As most of you may have heard, with the recent College Football Playoff rankings coming out, there has been serious controversy, especially surrounding some of the teams that were left out. These include Vanderbilt, BYU, and last but certainly not least, Notre Dame. If you talk to a lot of people, especially Henry Lannan, a passionate fan, they will be incredibly angry with the committee’s decision. Some complaints have ranged from strength of schedule to game conditions, including weather factors like wind speed, but are those frustrations actually justified? The simple answer is no, but let’s dive deeper into why the Irish deserved to get cut.
First, let’s look at the obvious. Notre Dame finished 10–2, a record that this year sat right on the fringe of the playoff, with some teams getting in and others being left out. Oklahoma and Miami both earned playoff spots at 10–2, and the committee clearly believed those two teams deserved it more than Notre Dame, and rightfully so. You may be wondering how a team like Alabama, who finished 10–3, got in while Notre Dame did not. There is actually a simple explanation. Alabama is not scared of competition and, unlike Notre Dame, plays in a conference.
Alabama entered its conference championship game at 10–2 and lost, which typically does not punish a team too much in the eyes of the committee. Notre Dame never even has the opportunity to win a conference because they choose not to join one. Because the Irish are independent, they also avoid playing a true conference schedule, which results in fewer chances to prove themselves against high level competition.
Outside of two early season games against Miami and Texas A&M, both of which Notre Dame lost, the Irish did not face many strong opponents. Their only other quality win came against USC. Aside from that, Notre Dame spent most of the season beating up on lower tier teams, including one of the weakest SEC teams in Arkansas, one of the bottom Big Ten teams in Purdue, and several ACC bottom feeders such as Stanford, Boston College, and Syracuse.
The main argument from Notre Dame fans has been that their two losses came against playoff teams. While that may be true, losses are still losses. On top of that, Notre Dame finished the season with just one ranked win. Blaming external factors, whether it be officiating or weather conditions, does not change the resume that the committee evaluates.
I think it is pretty clear why Notre Dame was left out, and honestly, there is not much to be upset about. Notre Dame could fix many of their fans’ complaints by simply joining a conference instead of acting like they are too cool for one. Notre Dame fans often claim they deserve a playoff spot year after year, but the truth is they do not. Maybe if they consistently schedule tougher opponents they will, but that is not the case right now.
On that note, here is Notre Dame’s schedule for next year:
VS Wisconsin
VS Rice
VS Michigan State
AT Purdue
AT North Carolina
VS Navy
VS Miami
VS Boston College
VS SMU
AT Syracuse
VS Stanford
AT USC (Southern California)
As you can see, this is once again a relatively easy schedule, with the Irish playing only two teams that are currently ranked and spending most of the season beating up on weaker programs in respected conferences. It is pretty clear what Notre Dame needs to do to improve its chances of making the playoff year after year, but until that happens, this debate will likely come up again.
