Former Notre Dame standout Joe Theismann is among those who feel the Fighting Irish were robbed of a College Football Playoff berth, but he thinks the Miami Hurricanes should not have been omitted instead.
In an appearance on SiriusXM on Monday, Theismann vented about the “disgusting” decision to leave Notre Dame out of the playoff field. He went on to question why the Alabama Crimson Tide were included despite having three losses.
“It was disgusting. It really was,” Theismann said. “Notre Dame and Miami should have been in, but what is Alabama doing in this? They’ve lost three games. The first three-loss team that’s ever been in. To leave Notre Dame out — Notre Dame was ranked above Miami all year until ‘the committee’ decides who winds up in the CFP. It’s insulting, it’s deplorable, and it’s just flat wrong.
“People talk about the system being broken. You don’t need to look very deep into the system to realize there’s no three-loss team that should be in the playoffs. If you wanted to put somebody in, BYU only lost two games. Texas lost three games. Yet Alabama still is at No. 9 with three losses. They lose to Florida State.”
Notre Dame Legend, @Theismann7, didn't hold back when talking about the Irish being left out of the College Football Playoff.
— College Sports on SiriusXM (@SXMCollege) December 8, 2025
He sounded off this morning to @DustyDvoracek & @dannykanell. pic.twitter.com/a6tRGqQsoe
Alabama entered Saturday with two losses before losing to Georgia in the SEC Championship. The committee decided not to punish the Crimson Tide for playing that extra game, as they did not even move in the final rankings.
Much of what Theismann is saying has been echoed by other Notre Dame supporters, with some going the extra mile. The point about Alabama is reasonable, but it makes it more challenging to judge the Crimson Tide off that one extra game that other teams like the Fighting Irish and Hurricanes did not get to play in.
Notre Dame has every right to be mad, though, especially since the committee’s explanation for suddenly flipping them with Miami did not make much sense.
