Notre Dame fans couldn\u2019t help but watch in disgust as Miami and Texas A&M engaged in a low-scoring rock fight in the first round of the\u00a0College Football Playoff.<\/p>\n
With eight minutes left in the fourth quarter of an eventual 10-3 Miami win, the score was tied, 3-3. Through the first three quarters and change of Saturday\u2019s game, fans saw both teams\u2019 kickers miss 4 of 6 field-goal attempts combined, plus three total turnovers. It was the first game in CFP history \u2014 including the four-team format that existed from 2014 through 2023 and the 12-team format that replaced it in 2024 \u2014 that went into halftime in a scoreless tie.<\/p>\n
This came in a game between two sides that had each averaged more than 34 points per game throughout the 2025 season.<\/p>\n
One contentious point regarding Notre Dame, which was the first team left out of this year\u2019s CFP bracket, was that two Group of 5 schools, No. 20 Tulane and No. 24 James Madison, received automatic bids and made the Playoff field over the No. 11 Fighting Irish by virtue of being among the five highest-ranked conference champions.<\/p>\n
Media personalities from ESPN analyst Kirk Herbstreit to seven-time national championship head coach Nick Saban, who also works as a broadcast analyst for ESPN, criticized the Playoff\u2019s selection criteria for creating the circumstances that made it possible to leave Notre Dame out of the bracket.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t think we need to make sure everybody gets a trophy, and make sure everybody\u2019s included,\u201d Herbstreit said Monday on \u201cNonstop,\u201d the podcast<\/a> he hosts with former NFL wide receiver Joey Galloway. \u201cI think that\u2019s a bunch of bulls\u2014.\u201d<\/p>\n During the Dec. 7 CFP bracket selection show, Saban expressed the opinion that the Playoff field didn\u2019t represent the 12 best teams<\/a> in college football this season.<\/p>\n \u201cI think the fact of the matter is, all three of those teams should have gotten in and deserve the right to play in the College Football Playoff,\u201d Saban said, referring to Miami and Alabama, which received at-large bids, and Notre Dame, which did not. \u201c\u2026 You\u2019re going to have two teams in the playoff \u2014 no disrespect to the Group of 5 \u2014 that are nowhere near ranked as highly as some other teams that are much better than them.\u201d<\/p>\n But Saturday afternoon\u2019s eyesore had nothing to do with Tulane or James Madison, the Group of 5 teams that supposedly didn\u2019t belong in the Playoff mix. Miami versus Texas A&M was a showdown between Power 5 programs, and yet they still produced a low-scoring, mistake-ridden stalemate.<\/p>\n When the CFP released its end-of-season rankings along with the Playoff bracket, Miami leapfrogged Notre Dame to nab the final at-large berth even though neither team played during Week 15 of the NCAA football season. In doing so, the Playoff selection committee rewarded the Hurricanes\u2019 27-24 season-opening win over Notre Dame on Aug. 31, but Fighting Irish fans felt their team had done more over the course of the season to deserve that spot than Miami.<\/p>\n As the team that was chosen over Notre Dame played a leading role in Saturday afternoon\u2019s battle of futility, many fans and media personalities who questioned the Fighting Irish\u2019s exclusion from the Playoff field took to social media to say \u201cI told you so,\u201d in one form or another. (Which came less than 24 hours after many did the same during Alabama\u2019s comeback win at Oklahoma in the CFP opener.)<\/p>\n Here are some of the reactions to Miami\u2019s ugly win at Kyle Field \u2026 and Danny Kanell from Friday night.<\/p>\n What a game <\/p>\n Notre Dame would\u2019ve had 30 on the scoreboard by now pic.twitter.com\/nSeY8PcPTk<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Will Compton (@_willcompton) December 20, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n The funny thing about this Miami vs Texas A&M game is that no matter how bad both teams play, Notre Dame fans can\u2019t say anything cause they lose to BOTH of them. I love it<\/p>\n \u2014 MattBeGreat (@mattbegreatyt) December 20, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cCan\u2019t believe we got left out. We would boat race these two teams.\u201d<\/p>\n Sincerely, \u2014 Adam Hall (@Adam_Hall4) December 20, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n Miami vs Texas A&M might be the worst football game I\u2019ve ever watched across any level in my entire life.<\/p>\n \u2014 Enyr Neslo (@TalkUncut) December 20, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n Notre Dame would beat both these teams.<\/p>\n \u2014 Notre Dame Fighting Irish (@Insidetheirish) December 20, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n For all those sheep who’ve been bleatin’ for Notre Dame to join a conference, sincerely hope you’re enjoying the heck out of this Ole Miss-Tulane snoozefest.<\/p>\n \u2014 Mark Kiszla (@markkiszla) December 20, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Notre Dame is better than both these teams<\/p>\n \u2014 Danny Kanell (@dannykanell) December 20, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n
Notre Dame fans pic.twitter.com\/VzCY7MFnpJ<\/a><\/p>\n