{
  "id": 14820372,
  "title": "After Notre Dame’s opt-out exit in 2025, BYU finally gets its shot at the Irish",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/15/after-notre-dames-opt-out-exit-in-2025-byu-finally-gets-its-shot-at",
  "topic": "culture",
  "section": "Culture",
  "published": "2026-10-15T23:46:38.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Yahoo Sports",
    "slug": "yahoo-sports",
    "url": "https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/notre-dame-opt-exit-2025-234638471.html"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "On Saturday, November 11, 2026, the No. 2 ranked Notre Dame Fighting Irish will take on the No. 8 BYU Cougars in a highly anticipated college football matchup at LaVell Edwards Stadium. The Irish, under head coach Marcus Freeman, have been undefeated in their past five games and currently hold the No. 2 spot in the country. Notre Dame's presence in the College Football Playoff (CFP) is virtually guaranteed, as the system appears to favor them. Founded in the 1920s, Notre Dame has a storied history, with a string of successful coaches and numerous national championships. The university has long been given preferential treatment, receiving special provisions in the Bowl Coalition, Bowl Alliance, and the Bowl Championship Series (BCS) that granted them automatic bids to major bowls and the current playoff system. In 2025, another special provision, the Memorandum of Understanding, was created for Notre Dame, allowing them to qualify for the playoffs simply by ranking in the top 12. Other teams must win a power conference championship or secure the highest ranking among the Group of Five conferences to achieve the same. Unlike other schools, Notre Dame does not belong to a conference, giving them even more flexibility in crafting their schedule. This arrangement, while controversial, has been widely accepted by the College Football Playoff committee. In the 2024 season, Notre Dame went 16-1, with all of their wins coming by double digits, and they played in the national championship game, falling to Ohio State. The Irish have outscored their opponents by an average of 33 points per game this season. Saturday's game against BYU is one that should have happened much earlier, as Notre Dame has been gathering momentum heading into the CFP.",
  "summary": "Critics will argue that Notre Dame has been coddled with sweetheart provisions for decades, and they’d be right.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Yahoo Sports",
        "title": "How good is Indiana? + Can BYU carry the Big 12 against Notre Dame? + JMU on the move",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/15/how-good-is-indiana-can-byu-carry-the-big-12-against-notre-dame-jmu",
        "published": "2026-10-15T20:01:44.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}