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Three thoughts on Notre Dame’s spot in the second CFP rankings of ‘26

There is no consistency for Notre Dame or anyone in CFP rankings “They looked like a Notre Dame team that should be ranked 5” YOU ranked them 11 a week ago!

✦ Extractive summary — built from the sources' own reporting•From 1 source•1 min read•Updated November 11, 2026, 12:04 PM UTC
Key points
  • Notre Dame has an inside track at a first-round bye The committee still doesn't know what it's doing, but Notre Dame is in a good spot at No.
  • The only fear is that a potential major conference winner could jump Notre Dame, but you have to like the spot it is in at the moment.
  • While the Irish are firmly in, the rankings as a whole raised a lot of questions for Notre Dame and others.

Following the impressive theatrics against Miami this past weekend, if this spot holds for the Irish, having another high-stakes game in Notre Dame Stadium sounds like a pretty good time to me.

While it is one spot short of having a first-round bye, Notre Dame would be in-line to host a home game, and we all remember the amazing atmosphere in 2024 when Indiana came to South Bend.

Additional details
  • 5 is a great seed THE SECOND CFP BRACKET PROJECTION OF THE SEASON ‼️ Some notable changes after a wild Week 10 😯 pic.twitter.com/MkKc8T5Q2s — ESPN (@espn) November 11, 2026 Look, it’s not a bye, but it’s almost a given win over Boise State.
  • https://t.co/YehFMcT0iW — Jack Soble (@jacksoble56) November 11, 2026 This season’s schedule worked out very well for Notre Dame, and while they would have loved to beat BYU, having multiple games before that and then Miami a few weeks later really helped the cause.
  • Here are three thoughts on the Irish’s ranking in the latest CFP poll.
  • 1 Georgia would be lurking next, so it’d be a good bet that if this was the final bracket, that Notre Dame should be, at minimum, heading to the semifinals.
  • Contact/Follow us @IrishWireND on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Notre Dame news, notes and opinions.

How this summary was made: extractive summary — built from the sources' own reporting. It is drawn only from the reporting of the sources listed below — read the originals for full detail. How we summarize →

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Yahoo SportsNovember 11, 2026, 12:04 PM UTC →

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