Notre Dame Would Have Excelled in a 24-Team CFP Last Season

Let me start by saying I largely hate the idea of further expansion in the College Football Playoff.

12 teams is enough, although I do feel it needs altered.

Do away with the quarterfinals games being on neutral sites and instead put them on the campuses of the four teams who earned the First Round byes.

That said, a proposed 24-team bracket that is getting support from the Big Ten was leaked on Friday morning based off how the 2025 regular season ended.

Although I don't like the idea of more teams, one thing certainly can't be debated...

Notre Dame Would Have Made Another Very Deep Run

Again, I'm not saying I agree with expansion in the postseason. That's absolutely not the case, but IF (very key word here) it were to have happened last year, how could you not have loved Notre Dame's draw.

According to Pete Thamel of ESPN, this is what the 24-team bracket would have looked like.

NEW: An internal Big Ten document explores a 24-team College Football Playoff. It offers a peek at what that model could look like, as another off-season of CFP discussion is set to unfold. Details here: https://t.co/on2sqej1H8 pic.twitter.com/j6twmdqyFp
— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) February 13, 2026

Quickly look at that draw and path for Notre Dame.

Georgia Tech in Notre Dame Stadium to get to the Round of 16.

A trip to Ole Miss, about as friendly of road SEC opponent as you can draw besides Vanderbilt.

Then a quarterfinals date with what would have almost certainly been Georgia on a neutral field?

You're looking at another trip to the Final Four for Notre Dame, with a great chance of things being even better.

Awaiting Notre Dame in the semi-finals would then be Ohio State if you went by the seeding, but you have to remember what happened in the actual playoff. Miami of course beat Texas A&M on the road and then Ohio State on a neutral field, giving Notre Dame a potential rematch in the Final Four.

Yes, Miami did get the better of Notre Dame in Week 1 at Miami, but play that game on a neutral field and give Notre Dame a full season with redshirt-freshman CJ Carr at quarterback and I like my chances.

Would Notre Dame Have Beaten Indiana in 2026 Playoff?

Since we've made it this far, it begs the question of whether or not Notre Dame would have finished the job and beat Indiana in the final round.

Although Miami took Indiana to the final seconds, it possessed things Notre Dame didn't have. As good as Notre Dame was, it was awful in short yardage situations offensively, something that would have been a major issue against the Hoosiers.

Miami also had a better defensive front than Notre Dame, something that caused problems for the Hoosiers offense often in the National Championship game.

That said, I have confidence that Notre Dame wouldn't have walked into having one of its punts blocked and picked up for an Indiana touchdown like Miami did, either.

Nick Shepkowski's Quick Takeaway

Ultimately, I hate the idea of expansion to the College Football Playoff, whether it would benefit Notre Dame or not.

What I actually hate most about this is the further disregard it gives Group of Six teams. If you're going to go all the way to 24 teams then every Group of Six conference should get representation. The sport has already done enough to torpedo these programs, essentially making them feeder programs to the big dogs of the sport.

The least you can do is give more of them a path to playing in the tournament, not just making it more of a gateway to more Big Ten and SEC entries, which this would end up being.

Hear more of my thoughts on the potential 24-team playoff on "Fall Saturdays: A College Football Podcast" below.