I can understand the rationale for individual players not wanting to risk injury etc. to protect their draft status etc. and opting out of playing in bowl games, but there are players on the Notre Dame, Iowa State, etc. rosters who have not played much at all this season.
What might be a “meaningless” game for many of the starters and high end players, could be an opportunity for second stringers, walk ons on the roster and young players to get some game action.
I know FBS football is about winning titles and the money involved is a huge factor, but at the end of the day I think there are a good number of players on these rosters who would appreciate having the chance to suit up and play in a game.
I am an Oregon fan, so no love lost for Cristobal, but he’s right when he stated, “When it comes down to things that are being compared, you always wish you had a head-to-head to evaluate. In this case, we do.”
The main reason for going to a playoff system was to determine a national champion on the field versus deciding between two teams who played in different bowl games using polls and computer rankings.
I am not a fan of either Notre Dame or Miami. However I found the below quote on an Oregon football message board to somewhat mirror how I have thought about the situation between the two teams.
“Notre Dame got passed up by Miami for the last CFP at large slate. Most aren’t mad about the Hurricanes passing them up, considering the week one game result, in which Miami beat Notre Dame. But there is confusion as to how the teams swapped positions without either playing. Some say the committee didn’t want the ACC to have zero teams after five loss Duke beat Virginia in the ACC title game. But that shouldn’t happen, if Miami was better than Notre Dame, they should’ve been ahead of them. Their ranking shouldn’t be dependent on a game that their merit has no effect on. It’s dumb. Notre Dame would’ve been better if Virginia won, but Miami is better because Duke won? After all, past the required five conference champions. The field should be filled with the best seven at large teams.”
I think this makes great sense. If the committee felt Miami was better than ND (a reasonable take) then they should have ranked them above them all along instead of waiting until the final ranking. Instead, they waited until after the conference championships to rank Miami ahead of ND even though neither team played. That kind of stuff is why people think the system is rigged (in my view both should have made it - it’s ludicrous to have JMU and Tulane in the BCS and the rule that you need to have 5 conferences represented is dumb if the teams in question aren’t good enough).
Every playoff format will have a controversy surrounding a team that was left out. It was certainly the case with the 4-team playoff. The 12-team format was supposed to remedy that.
It was a fluke that a team with 5 losses won the ACC Championship. However, the CFP rules said to take five conference champions. Not surprising that Duke was not chosen.
I am in favor of having a non-power conference team in the playoffs. Boise State competed well with Penn State for most of the game in last year’s playoff. Back in 2021, undefeated Cincinnati made the 4-team playoff. I had no problem with that.
Interesting takes - 2 - former LSU Coach Ed Oregeron implies players were paid b4 the NIL. Everyone knows this but to say it….
Orgeron joined the Bussin’ with the Boys podcast to discuss a host of topics, one of which included paying players before NIL. Podcast hosts Taylor Lewan and Will Compton joked that the SEC paid players before it was legal, and Orgeron chuckled before giving a classic response.
“Hey, you know… it’s all good. They say, ‘Hey Coach, you know, you’ve been out of coaching for a while. How are you going to adjust to NIL?’ I said, ‘Well, it’s a minor adjustment. … Back then, we used to walk through the back door with the cash. Now we just gotta walk through the front door with the cash!’”
TWO
From Pat Forde at SI - spot on in my opinion even if they are rightfully upset.
The one thing I haven’t heard anyone at the school do yet? Blame themselves.
Starting 0–2 is on Notre Dame. Scheduling two really difficult games at the beginning of the season is on Notre Dame. Stumbling early in three out of four seasons under Marcus Freeman, with September losses to Northern Illinois last year and Marshall in 2022, is on Notre Dame. Mismanaging the team’s strengths and weaknesses in the first few weeks is on Notre Dame.
Or they could JOIN A CONFERENCE! If they were in the ACC, it’s likely they’d have beat Virginia and be automatically in the playoffs. They were okay joining the ACC during covid in order to keep playing. They are in conferences in other sports because they aren’t King in other sports so have to act like all the other teams and join a conference. Schools in other conference get to play their rivalries and traditional games and just make it work. ND could join the B1G and still play USC and Michigan (maybe not every year).
Or they can just sit out bowl games every few years. Up to them.
Starting next year they’d be in - and JMU would be out.
There’s a new agreement starting next year.
Starting in 2026, there’s a memorandum of understanding signed by Notre Dame last spring guarantees the Fighting Irish a playoff appearance if they rank inside the top 12 of the final poll.
I’m glad JMU got in this year because it’s unlikely it could ever happen again. The conference rules hurt them in 2022 and 2023 so it’s nice to see the NCAA football ecosystem even things out.
