Story byMichael Chen , Fighting Irish WireTue, January 20, 2026 at 5:48 PM UTC·2 min readSadly for us, the 2025-26 college football seasons has ended and with that we found out where Notre Dame was ranked in the final US LBM Coaches Poll of the year. The Irish were ranked as the No. 11 team, two spots lower than they finished, which raises more than a few questions about the College Football Playoff omission considering where James Madison and Tulane finished. It was pretty clear that Notre Dame was one of the best twelve teams this fall, but due to some rules that are changing in the upcoming season, they were left out. AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementThe coaches poll unsurprisingly had the final two teams, Indiana and Miami, at the top of their rankings.