This has been quite the offseason for Notre Dame and coach Marcus Freeman. The College Football Playoff's decision to alter the seeding and first-round bye process for the 2025 season continues a string of wins for the Fighting Irish that includes an elite signing haul and the news of a 12-year partnership with Clemson for a future series that strengthens their stance as an independent program.

The first obvious advantage is that if Notre Dame is a top four seed it will only have to win three games to win a national championship. Notre Dame won three games in the 2024-25 College Football Playoff, beating Indiana (27-17), Georgia (23-10) and Penn State (27-24), but those victories simply got the Irish to the national title game.

According to ESPN, the CFP will go to a straight seeding model. That means the four first-round byes will no longer be given to the highest-rated major conference champs. The first round byes will be given to the four top ranked teams, no matter what conference they are in or not in.