This has been quite the offseason for Notre Dame and coach Marcus Freeman. The College Football Playoff's decision to alter the seeding and first-round bye process for the 2025 season continues a string of wins for the Fighting Irish that includes an elite signing haul and the news of a 12-year partnership with Clemson for a future series that strengthens their stance as an independent program.

After months of back and forth debate, the College Football Playoff Management Committee announced yesterday that there was a big change coming to the 2025-26 playoff. After just one season the 12-team playoff is changing,

According to ESPN, the CFP will go to a straight seeding model. That means the four first-round byes will no longer be given to the highest-rated major conference champs. The first round byes will be given to the four top ranked teams, no matter what conference they are in or not in.