If Notre Dame had accepted the offer to play BYU in the Pop Tarts Bowl, ND would have received over $3 million for its share based on last year’s Pop Tarts Bowl payout.
There may have been a very real concern that Notre Dame would be beaten by BYU in the bowl game as BYU is hopping mad over the result of their last game while Notre Dame is demoralized by its failure to make it into the 12 team CFP playoff. Such a defeat would invalidate Notre Dame’s argument that it was unfairly denied a spot in this year’s CFP.
This argument is essentially the Paul Finebaum (SEC homer) position.
What is bothersome to me is that ND was ranked ahead of Miami in the first six weekly CFP rankings of the 2025 season. And in the final, most crucial, CFP ranking, Miami is ranked ahead of Notre Dame, with both teams not playing this past weekend?
And if what the ND AD is stating is true, then the ACC Conference pushed for Miami over Notre Dame leading up to the selections. That’s fine for the ACC, since ND is independent for football, but they had to know that ND would be VERY upset.
ND’s athletic department revenue is $200+ Million. IMO, $3 Million is “a drop in the bucket.”
And whatever ND would earn from the CFP bowl game, ND would have to cover the costs such as flights, hotels, meals, security, equipment, ground transport for hundreds of players, coaches, and staff.
According to ESPN commentator Paul Finebaum: The ACC Network replayed the head-to-head match-up between U Miami and Notre Dame 17,000 times in the days immediately prior to the final CFP rankings in an attempt to lobby for U Miami. And, if true, it worked. And, it is a powerful and persuasive argument.
Not sure if this is accurate, but I have heard that U Miami’s two losses during the regular season came when key players were injured.
Notre Dame’s AD had substantial input in the redesign of the CFP to an expanded 12 teams, but even that did not assure Notre Dame a position in the CFP. Maybe further expansion to a 16 team playoff with no byes would alleviate the impression of any gross unfairness in the CFP selection process.
P.S. If an over $3 million payout is just “a drop in the bucket” for Notre Dame, then why is Notre Dame charging students and their families tuition ?
Then rank Miami ahead of ND in the previous SIX polls.
Also, the game was played 8/31/25, 3+ months ago. How powerful and persuasive is a FG to win the game in the last minute of a 27-24 win at home (in Miami)? Not to me!
And ND statrted and played a true freshman QB, CJ Carr, his first start. Miami’s QB, Carson Beck, is a 6th year senior.
The CFP has always been clear that only the final poll matters and that each team’s entire regular season matters.
Notre Dame’s final 5 games this year were against weak teams. Beating a hapless Syracuse team by 70 to 7 apparently did not convince enough folks that Notre Dame was the powerhouse that ND believes it is. Beating Stanford and Colgate also didn’t move the needle in the direction that Notre Dame had hoped for.
Notre Dame’s SOS (strength of schedule according to ESPN charts) was 44th, while U Miami’s SOS was 45th, but U Miami won the head-to-head contest between the two teams.
There are reasonable arguments to be made both in favor and against U Miami as well as with respect to Notre Dame for a CFP playoff spot. The CFP is still developing. Hopefully, the CFP will expand to 16 teams with no byes.
One widespread impression is that Notre Dame truly believes that it is better than everyone else with respect to football. Interesting how Notre Dame supporters mimic the same attitude. It’s one thing to believe that you’re the best, but an entirely different mental perspective to want to be the best.
Notre Dame football is too good for the SEC, too good for the Big Ten Conference, too good for the ACC, too good for the Big 12 Conference, yet couldn’t make the cut for an expanded 12 team CFP that Notre Dame’s AD helped design. Obviously, it is still a flawed system if Notre Dame football is excluded. Greed comes with its own costs.
The good news is that the CFP, the SEC, the Big Ten Conference,and others will make further concessions in order to benefit Notre Dame in the near future. After all, how can there be a true national champion in college football if Notre Dame is excluded from the CFP ?
Funny note on the CFP committee stating the Bama over the top to make it into the finals was the atmosphere they had to play in at Auburn - giving Auburn (they most heated rival in the most heated rivalry game, (I know I know about “the game) - put them over the in deciding between them and ??? can’t remember who. But, totally ridiculous that the worst team Auburn has fielded in over a decade puts them over the top when they only won in the 4th quarter by a touchdown. We were tied going into 4th. I think it’s ludicrous they used Auburn to say that’s why Bama got in.
Oh…and Alabama beat then #1 ranked U Georgia at Athens, Georgia and played in the SEC.
Also, it would be much easier if Notre Dame joined the ACC as a full member for football. ND can negotiate a higher share of the revenue as its membership might save the ACC. Also, Notre Dame would have a much stronger argument for inclusion in the CFP if ND became the ACC champion (with fewer than 5 regular season losses of course) since the ACC is a Power 4 athletic conference.
Standing alone for greed and the belief that one is holier than thou has its costs just as conference membership has its rewards.
Sure, but in the case of Notre Dame, Notre Dame lost its first two games of the season even though the second game was at home with an extra week to prepare. Then Notre Dame finished its weak schedule undefeated.
Based on Notre Dame’s season, there is little reason to be upset or outraged by its exclusion from the CFP this year. Notre Dame came close to making the cut, but didn’t. And Notre Dame lost to its two toughest opponents without facing any other team of equal caliber during the rest of their season.
I think the committee said that ND and Miami were NOT next to each other in previous polls but with BYU losing, they were. And it makes no sense to rank ND above Miami if they are next to each other.
I also heard the ND AD on the radio pissed at the ACC because they were tweeting all week why Miami should get in instead of ND. And ND plays non-rev sports with ACC. Well, maybe they should change then. You want the benefits of a conference? Join one. All the way in, not just non-rev sports.
No issues w/ Notre Dame in or out. I honestly don’t care, my team stunk all season this year, last year, the year before, etc. I wish the best for whomever made it and I would not want to be part of the committee making the decisions. I just find some of the logic “interesting”.
They already gave the head coaching job to the defensive coordinator Pete Golding who did not go to LSU, not sure if he was invited but he stayed at Ole Miss to be interim and they made him Head Coach instead, not Interim. So no head coaching job available at Ole Miss.
