After surprisingly being left out of the College Football Playoff bracket, Notre Dame is taking its ball and going home.
The Fighting Irish decided Sunday to withdraw from bowl game consideration despite being the most sought-after team for non-playoff bowls after reaching the national championship game last season.
Notre Dame isn't the first program to pull out of a bowl game this season, as the Fighting Irish joined Iowa State and Kansas State, but both the Cyclones and Wildcats are in the middle of coaching transitions.
Here's what you need to know about Notre Dame's decision to withdraw from bowl consideration.
MORE: Why Notre Dame was left out of College Football Playoff
Why did Notre Dame withdraw from a bowl game?
Notre Dame released a brief statement on Sunday announcing the team would not play in a bowl game this season.
"As a team, we've decided to withdraw our name from consideration for a bowl game following the 2025 season. We appreciate all the support from our families and fans, and we're hoping to bring the 12th national title to South Bend in 2026," the statement reads.
— Notre Dame Football (@NDFootball) December 7, 2025
Before the announcement, Notre Dame AD Pete Bevacqua told Yahoo Sports on Sunday that the committee's decision to leave the Irish out of the playoff felt "like a collective feeling that we were all just punched in the stomach."
"We feel like the playoff was stolen from our student-athletes," Bevacqua said, arguing that there is "no explanation" that can justify the committee's decision and calling the weekly rankings leading up to the bracket reveal a "total farce."
Notre Dame discussed the decision for "nearly an hour" on Sunday before releasing a statement, On3's Brett McMurphy reports. The Fighting Irish were lined up to play BYU in the Pop-Tarts Bowl, in what would have been a matchup of the first two teams out of the playoff bracket.
There aren't many reported details about what exactly went into the decision for Notre Dame, but frustration with the system seems to be at the heart of it. Bevacqua was apoplectic about the committee's decision, and the Fighting Irish seem intent on not becoming a spectacle in the Pop-Tarts Bowl and not feeding into a system they don't believe in right now.
BENDER: Why Notre Dame is justified in snubbing bowl game
Notre Dame bowl streak
Notre Dame's decision ends a streak of eight consecutive seasons with a bowl appearance.
The Irish have fallen short of bowl eligibility just once in the last 16 seasons, when they suffered through a 4-8 season under Brian Kelly in 2016. Otherwise, Notre Dame has been a postseason staple under Kelly and Freeman, reaching a bowl each season from 2017-24.
Notre Dame's streak still wouldn't have come close to the longest active streaks in the country, as Georgia (29), Oklahoma (27), Alabama (22) and Clemson (21) have all played in a bowl each season for more than two decades.
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Notre Dame bowl history
Notre Dame is 24-22 all-time in bowl games, including all College Football Playoff games. The Fighting Irish won three playoff games last season before losing to Ohio State in the national championship game.
Since 2010, Notre Dame has been a bowl mainstay, playing in a bowl each season other than 2016. Before 2010, success was more sporadic for the Irish following a dominant stretch in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Notre Dame earned bowl eligibility in eight of 14 seasons from 1996-2009 before regaining their form under Kelly.
Notre Dame will not be part of the postseason in any way for the first time since 2016, but at 10-2, it isn't the Irish's record keeping them from a bowl game this time.