Irish Breakdown

CFP Committee Still Holds Power Over Notre Dame Despite Rule Change

As an independent, Notre Dame's inclusion in the College Football Playoff is subject to the committee's opinion. A new rule does not change that.
Jack Ankony|
Notre Dame Fighting Irish coach Marcus Freeman against the Arkansas Razorbacks at Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium. Notre Dame won 56-13.
Notre Dame Fighting Irish coach Marcus Freeman against the Arkansas Razorbacks at Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium. Notre Dame won 56-13. | Nelson Chenault-Imagn Images

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Notre Dame Fighting Irish

The College Football Playoff is staying at 12 teams next season, but two adjustments have been made regarding how the field is set.

One change is that Notre Dame is guaranteed an at-large bid to the College Football Playoff if it is ranked in the top 12 of the final CFP rankings. The second gives automatic bids to the Power 4 conference champions (Big Ten, SEC, Big 12 and ACC) and an automatic bid to the highest-ranked Group of 6 conference champion.

Had those rules been in place this past season, Notre Dame would have made the playoff over Miami, and Duke would have received a bid over James Madison. Of course, that sparked outrage on social media due to perceived favoritism toward the Fighting Irish, and the idea that Miami –– the national runner-up, who beat Notre Dame –– would have been left out.

Many seem to be missing the larger point. Even with this rule in place, the CFP committee has leverage over Notre Dame. In fact, the rule has no power at all.

Why? If the committee does not want Notre Dame in the playoff, it can simply rank the Irish outside the top 12. There is nothing forcing the committee to rank Notre Dame top 12, even if the Irish are 12-0. It'd be silly and they'd lose all credibility, but that's the truth.

As an independent, Notre Dame has no path to receiving an automatic bid because it is a prisoner of the committee's subjective rankings. The only true automatic bids are for conference champions.

For example, Indiana would know it had punched a ticket to the CFP if it won the Big Ten Championship. On the other hand, a 12-0 Notre Dame would still be subject to the committee's rankings.

Just look at this past season. Notre Dame was ahead of Miami in every iteration of the CFP rankings, only for the committee to flip Miami ahead of Notre Dame following a week in which neither team played.

There was nothing forcing the committee to put Notre Dame in the field then, and the committee could still do the exact same thing next season if the same situation arises because the new rule has no bearing in regard to where Notre Dame is ranked.

Even if the rule had been in place this past season, the committee still could have flipped Miami ahead of Notre Dame if it really wanted the Hurricanes in the playoff over the Irish. So to say Notre Dame is getting special treatment with this rule misses the mark.

In his press conference on Jan. 14, coach Marcus Freeman said several times Notre Dame needs to "leave no doubt" moving forward. Perhaps the only way to do so in future seasons is to go 12-0, but even that's no guarantee.

This is the cost of being independent, and Notre Dame's CFP fate still relies on the committee's opinion –– even with this new rule.

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Jack Ankony
JACK ANKONY

Jack Ankony has covered college football, college basketball and Major League Baseball since joining "On SI" in 2022. He graduated from Indiana University's Media School with a degree in journalism.

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