Although Notre Dame finished the 2025 season with the same record as Miami, the Canes did beat the Irish back in Week 1. And in the end, that seems to have been what vaulted the U over ND and into the playoffs, even if the committee ranked the Irish above the Canes in multiple instances before Sunday.

The Irish have played two-and-a-half months of elimination games to get to this point, only to have to wait to see what the committee says.

FOX Sports analyst Joel Klatt explained why he listed the Notre Dame Fighting Irish ahead of the Oklahoma Sooners in his rankings.