College Football Playoff Selection a Perfect Fit This Season for Notre Dame Football
SOUTH BEND — Somewhere early Sunday afternoon, former Notre Dame athletic director Jack Swarbrick surely smiled.
CFP chatter: The field is set: Notre Dame football earns its way into the 12-team College Football Playoff.
Whether watching on television or a tablet or his phone, Swarbrick likely felt a sense of satisfaction at 12:29 p.m. when he saw the Notre Dame football name appear where he long believed it should appear.
Notre Dame is comfortably nestled inside the new 12-team College Football Playoff, earning the No. 7 seed and setting up a home game against No. 10 Indiana on Friday, December 20, at 8 p.m. on ESPN/ABC.
This new CFP format was Swarbrick’s ultimate pet project during his tenure at the university, where he served from 2008 to 2024. He was a founding father of this CFP, which allows Notre Dame playoff access while preserving its cherished independence.
For this season, it worked out just as Swarbrick envisioned. Notre Dame did not have to join a conference, nor did it need to play a conference championship game. Most importantly, there was no need for anyone from the university, be it athletic director Pete Bevacqua or head coach Marcus Freeman, to shout from the rooftops over the past month detailing why Notre Dame deserved CFP inclusion.
Sunday went about as well as expected for Notre Dame. The team secured its spot and earned a home game, avoiding any collateral damage regarding which teams were or were not selected.
Initially during the selection show, the only mention of Notre Dame was during the pairings announcement. The absence of discussion surrounding the Irish was seen as ideal.
The selection show kicked off at noon and was set to run until 4 p.m. There were genuine concerns about ESPN potentially stretching the broadcast with fluff content before getting to the 12-team field. Fortunately, we only had to wait 22 minutes to learn Notre Dame’s fate.
Notre Dame earned its playoff bid through its performance on the field over the past few months, despite that embarrassing loss to Northern Illinois early in the season. After that dubious defeat, it seemed the Irish’s CFP hopes had been extinguished.
However, Freeman, his staff, and the players rallied. They allowed that initial hurt to motivate them and went about winning week after week, impressively overcoming the loss. While other coaches and analysts clamored for their teams in various ways, Notre Dame moved forward confidently and quietly.
This playoff structure succeeded even amidst some confusion among fans regarding the seeding and ranking system.
When Trevor Etienne crossed the end zone in overtime to help Georgia defeat Texas for the SEC championship, it largely determined Notre Dame’s playoff rankings fate. Had Texas emerged victorious, Notre Dame could have possibly climbed to the No. 5 seed.
Yet, the Irish found themselves firmly at No. 7. With no conference championship game and the specter of that Northern Illinois loss, they did the best they could. Accepting a No. 7 seed and obtaining a first-round home game was a solid achievement.
This result left many Irish fans somewhat flustered on social media, a platform not known for its calm perspectives. Many insisted that Notre Dame would secure a third or fourth seed. In reality, the top four consisted of teams that had won their respective conference championships, placing Notre Dame’s highest potential finish at fifth, which evaporated when Texas lost.
Throughout November, Notre Dame’s standing in the CFP rankings resembled a driver struggling to navigate icy roads. One week it seemed headed to Penn State, then Tennessee, followed by a matchup against Alabama. As the selections approached, fears grew that Notre Dame might miss a home game entirely.
However, victory assured them a home game. That assurance materialized when cornerback Christan Gray intercepted a potential game-tying touchdown pass and returned it 99 yards into the end zone in Los Angeles just over a week ago.
With the announcement on Sunday affirmed, college football is stepping into new territory. So is Notre Dame, boasting an 11-1 record. Only Oregon and Boise State have matched Notre Dame’s accomplishment this season, winning at least 10 consecutive games.
Oregon is favored to claim the national championship, but dismissing the Irish would be unwise.
Notre Dame stands as one of the top teams in the country, and now has their opportunity to prove it. The Irish will aim to make the most of their home advantage and possibly face No. 2 Georgia in New Orleans. It’s time for Notre Dame to embrace ambition and capitalize on the potential Freeman recognized throughout the season, even after that earlier loss.
