Marcus Freeman says Notre Dame must 'leave no doubt' for CFP in 2026 - ESPN

After an abrupt end to the 2025 season and a winter filled with headlines about coach Marcus Freeman and the Notre Dame program, the Fighting Irish have a theme for 2026: Leave no doubt.

Almost a year after playing for a national title and 47 days after Notre Dame's last game, Freeman outlined the team's mantra as it fully turns the page for 2026. Despite 10 consecutive double-digit wins to end the 2025 season, Notre Dame was snubbed from the College Football Playoff and subsequently opted out of a Pop-Tarts Bowl invitation.

Since then, athletic director Pete Bevacqua has sparred with the ACC over social media posts, the Irish and USC suspended their longstanding rivalry series, Freeman's name has frequently surfaced for NFL coach openings and an incident involving him at his son's wrestling match led to no charges being filed against the Notre Dame coach.

Freeman called the CFB snub «obviously disappointing» Wednesday, but not something to dwell upon. The Irish entered the final rankings at No. 10 but fell a spot as Miami, which beat Notre Dame in the season opener, was included in the field. Miami will face Indiana next Monday in the national championship game.

«As I reminded the group on our team meeting on Sunday, it's our responsibility to make sure we leave no doubt, and moving forward, we can't blame it on somebody else,» Freeman said. «Although we may be, I may be, confused about some of the criteria and [CFP] committee's rankings and all those different things, it's our job as we move forward to make sure we leave no doubt.»

Freeman eliminated doubt, at least for now, about his career plans after being mentioned as an NFL coaching candidate, even after sources told ESPN that he received an enhanced contract from