Overview
- Both teams are 10-2 with Notre Dame ranked No. 10 and Miami No. 12 despite the Hurricanes’ 27-24 Week 1 win over the Irish.
- Mario Cristobal is publicly pressing the committee to prioritize Miami’s head-to-head victory, with Miami idle after losing an ACC tiebreaker.
- Notre Dame’s case centers on a 10-game winning streak, dominant margins, and favorable analytics such as high FPI and Sagarin ratings, with AD Pete Bevacqua even pitching a future 16-team playoff.
- Oddsmakers peg Notre Dame as a slight neutral-field favorite in a hypothetical rematch (Irish by 1.5 to 3 points), while a proposed SP+/FPI composite model would place Notre Dame higher than the committee’s order.
- Committee messaging on criteria remains opaque, and analysts note championship outcomes could reshuffle at-large slots, with Kirk Herbstreit suggesting certain results might put Miami in position to pass Notre Dame.