Notre Dame was snubbed by the College Football Playoff (CFP) Committee this year. Hey, it happens to everyone. But it won’t happen to Notre Dame again.

In all the chaos following the CFP’s mysterious exclusion of Notre Dame from the 12-team field after having the Irish ranked in the Top 12 for over a month, Notre Dame Athletic Director Pete Bevacqua revealed this little nugget in a conversation with Yahoo Sports.

Beginning in the 2026 season, if the Irish are ranked in the top 12 by the committee, they’ll be guaranteed a spot in the CFP bracket, per a memorandum of understanding (MOU) signed by CFP officials.

In addition, should the CFP field expand to 14 teams, the Irish would be guaranteed a spot if they’re ranked 13th or higher.

Should the much-talked-about 16-team bracket become

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