The Notre Dame football team is hoping to return to the College Football Playoff in 2026. While the Fighting Irish started the season with an 0-2 mark, the squad has found wins ever since. Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman is trying not to sweat the team's future in the postseason.

“You waste time daydreaming about an uncertain future. Who cares?” Freeman said to reporters, per On3. “The future is uncertain. So focus on being the best version of you today.”

Notre Dame has won 10 games in a row, after defeating Stanford 49-20 on Saturday. The Fighting Irish hold a 10-2 record. The squad is likely to make the College Football Playoff this season, but is not considered a lock.

Freeman did endorse his team's CFP qualifications though following the win over Stanford.

“You talk about a team that is probably playing as well as anyone right now, have won 10-straight games in a row, I think all of them by double-digit points maybe. You know, you want the 12 best teams now,” Freeman said, per Newsweek. “I know you have the conference champions and the group of five highest-ranked team, but you talk about who are the best teams now. Not Week 1, now, and it’s hard to argue we aren’t one of those teams.”

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The Fighting Irish lost the 2024 national championship game, to Ohio State.

Notre Dame will wait to hear its fate on Selection Day

Notre Dame's best win this season came against USC. The Fighting Irish also got a quality victory over Pittsburgh. Notre Dame football lost to Texas A&M and Miami (FL) to start the year, by very close scores.

The Fighting Irish play as an independent in football, which makes their road to the CFP a bit trickier. Notre Dame won't get a conference championship game opportunity to prove they belong in the field. Notre Dame instead will wait and hope for no surprises in the conference title games, so they can be assured a bid.

Selection Day for the CFP bracket is on December 7. There are 12 total spots in the field.