How Notre Dame Would Be Impacted by CFP Bracket Rule Change in 2026 CFB Season

It will be of little solace this season, but Notre Dame will be in the College Football Playoff during the 2026 campaign if the exact same situation unfolds next year.

Notre Dame athletic director Pete Bevacqua said the memorandum of understanding the Fighting Irish signed with the CFP guarantees the program a spot in the field if it is ranked in the top 12 starting in 2026, per Ross Dellenger of Yahoo Sports.

What's more, Bevacqua said Notre Dame will be guaranteed a spot if it is ranked in the top 13 if the CFP expands to 14 teams. However, the MOU only covers 12- or 14-team fields and will not be in place if the CFP is expanded beyond 14 squads.

While Notre Dame was idle Saturday as many teams played in conference title games, it fell from No. 10 in last week's rankings to No. 11 in the final one. It had to finish in the top 10 to land an at-large bid since two of the five highest-ranked conference champions that were guaranteed spots were outside of the top 12.

It was a shocking development, especially since a Miami team that the Fighting Irish were ahead of throughout the CFP rankings this season jumped them while it was also idle.

Yet BYU was ranked between the two teams entering Saturday but lost to Texas Tech in blowout fashion in the Big 12 title game. That meant Miami and Notre Dame were right next to each other in the final rankings with the Cougars dropping, and the Hurricanes' head-to-head win from earlier in the season seemed to take precedence.

As a result, Notre Dame withdrew from bowl consideration:

Ultimately, Notre Dame's biggest issue might have been with Alabama not dropping from No. 9 despite the Crimson Tide losing in convincing fashion to Georgia in the SEC championship game.

BYU dropped in the rankings for losing its conference title game. Ohio State dropped in the rankings for losing its conference title game. But the SEC's Crimson Tide didn't budge despite managing minus-three rushing yards in a 21-point loss to Georgia.

Alabama Gets SMOKED by Georgia

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Alabama also has arguably the worst loss of any team that was in CFP contention this season, thanks to its season-opening defeat against 5-7 Florida State.

But it was Notre Dame that was left out, as that head-to-head loss to Miami ultimately proved costly.

At least the Fighting Irish won't have to worry about the exact same situation next season.