Marcus Freeman isn’t worried about Notre Dame’s ranking. Here’s what matters

Where Notre Dame is in the College Football Playoff rankings is always one of the key headlines. It was a bit of surprise Tuesday when the one-loss Fighting Irish found themselves ranked No. 11, representing the final at-large team of the 12-team bracket as of now. It's a five-spot difference from the US LBM Coaches Poll, where Notre Dame is ranked No. 6. As if tonight's visit from No. 1 Miami didn't have enough stakes already, that No. 11 ranking put even more pressure on Notre Dame. Lose and the Irish can likely kiss their CFP hopes goodbye . “I think this is a leave-no-doubt type of game," Irish coach Marcus Freeman said on Saturday's ESPN 'College GameDay'. "We complained, ‘we want an opportunity,’ well, here you go, right? 'You want this opportunity, you got one.'" Last year's regular-season loss to the Hurricanes was the key contributor to the Irish being left out of the 2025 playoffs , despite Notre Dame being ranked above Miami for all of the CFP rankings prior to the final reveal. "As far as the rankings, I told our group, it really doesn’t matter," Freeman said. "What we’re ranked today, that has no (indication) of what it’s going to be in a couple weeks and we learned that lesson last year. So don’t worry about the rankings, right now. Worry about it at the end of the season.” Miami will be without star receiver and Heisman Trophy contender Malachi Toney, who hurt his ankle in practice Wednesday . The Fighting Irish are 7-point home favorites for the 7:30 pm. kickoff.