Jeremiyah Love says Notre Dame football ‘put ourselves in that position’ to be left out of CFP
Five days after the College Football Playoff Committee unveiled its decision to leave Notre Dame out of its 12-team field, Fighting Irish star running back Jeremiyah Love stood in New York on his own achievement.
During a media availability with all the Heisman Trophy finalists, Love opened up about Notre Dame’s abrupt end to its 2025 season.
He shared how he had come to terms with the committee’s decision to leave the Irish out of the field of 12, and shared more insights into why Notre Dame decided to decline an invitation to a bowl game.
What they’re saying:
Love is Notre Dame’s first Heisman Trophy finalist since 2012 when linebacker Manti Te’o was up for the award. It’s a prestigious moment for Notre Dame football, and especially for Love.
He still reflected on the moment that defined the program in the last five days.
“Obviously we weren’t happy about it,” Love told reporters in New York City. “Everybody at that time didn’t understand why, but once a few days went by, once some time passed by, we realized that we were only in that position because we put ourselves in that position.”
The Irish were left out of the CFP on Sunday after the committee kept Alabama ahead of them at No. 9, leaving the committee to bounce Notre Dame out of the field in favor of Miami, which had beat the Irish 27-24 in Week 1, James Madison and Tulane. The Dukes and Wave were the highest-ranking conference champions, taking up the No. 12 and No. 11 seeds.
This enraged the Notre Dame administration, because the committee had Notre Dame safely in the field at No. 9 for nearly the entire month of November. In the end, the Irish were compared to the Crimson Tide more than Miami, and the committee placed Alabama in the playoff citing its participation in the SEC championship game and impressive road win over Auburn.
The Tide lost to Georgia 28-7 in the SEC championship game, and defeated 5-7 Auburn 27-20.
Notre Dame director of athletics Pete Bevacqua pointed this frustration at the CFP committee and the ACC, which publicly campaigned for Miami to be ranked over the Irish for weeks. Notre Dame is a member of the ACC all but two sports: football and ice hockey. The Irish have an agreement with the ACC where they remain an independent program, but play five ACC teams annually. That schedule is set by the ACC.
“All things can be healed. I’m not going to be overly dramatic here, right?” Bevacqua said on Tuesday. “But it strained the relationship.”
The Irish started the season 0-2 after losses to Miami and Texas A&M, but finished the year with 10-straight wins. If Notre Dame won one of those two games, they would firmly be in the playoff. Love came to terms with that decision because there were opportunities for Notre Dame to make the arguments a moot point.
“Our season was the way it was,” Love said. “We controlled our own destiny, and at the end of the day we left it up to the committee to decide whether we were going to be in the playoffs or not.
Love also shed more light on the program deciding to opt out of a bowl game.
The decision sparked criticism from all over the nation from pundits and fans, but it wasn’t a decision Notre Dame is dwelling on. Love simplified the decision while speaking to reporters.
“Ultimately, came down to us wanting to give the best representation of our 2025 football team,” Love said. “We felt like we had a very special group, and at the end of the season, we weren’t going to have the same team that we did going into the bowl game. So we wanted to make sure that we didn’t want to represent the team in any light that it wasn’t throughout the whole 2025 season.”
Now, Notre Dame heads into a lengthy offseason where it can only reflect on where it came short. Love spoke about where the team could have left no doubt they were a playoff team, while also understanding the Irish should be proud of another 10-win season where the team proved they have a core of extremely talented players.
“I’m a big believer in taking control of your own destiny,” Love said. “We understand if we took care of business throughout the whole season, there would’ve been no doubt in the College Football Playoff. But we had the season that we had, that we’re not by any means disappointed in.”
What’s next:
Love is in New York City to mark his Heisman Trophy candidacy.
His Heisman stock took off after rushing for 228 yards against USC. He earned his finalist mark with some eye-popping performances, and finished the 2025 season with 1,652 yards from scrimmage and 21 total touchdowns.
Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza and Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia are favored to win the award over Love. However, Love will most likely be a top-15 or top-1o NFL Draft pick if he declares.
That decision is next for Love. The 2026 season is next for the Fighting Irish. The CFP snub is in his past.
“We accept it and we’re ready to keep working,” Love said. “We have to get right back to work and get prepared for the next season.”
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