Historic College Football Powerhouse Emerges as Gen Z’s ‘Favorite Villain’

This USA Today reporter believes that this historic college gridiron power is Gen Z'z new villain.

Notre Dame, IN, USA; The Notre Dame Leprechaun celebrates during the Blue-Gold game at Notre Dame Stadium. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The landscape of college football has shifted in some dramatic ways over the past several years, and these changes have led to one of the sport's traditional powers reemerging as a legitimate National Championship contender.

This would be the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, who have gone from "good, but not good enough" in the 2010s to one of college football's truly elite squads under the guidance of head coach Marcus Freeman.

This return to the top has not been without controversy, however, as Notre Dame rubbed plenty of fans and analysts the wrong way when they essentially took their ball and went home by refusing to play in the Pop-Tarts Bowl after missing out on the College Football Playoff.

This is far from the first time Notre Dame has drawn the ire of the college football world, but it is the first time for many of the sport’s newer generation of fans that the Irish have had this kind of stigma.

USA Today reporter Matt Hayes recently touched on this newfound dislike for the Fighting Irish among Gen Z football fans, explaining why this is just the continuation of a cycle that has been perpetuating itself for the past 90 or so years.

A New Generation of Hate

Notre Dame, Indiana, USA; ’Touchdown Jesus’ on the campus of Notre Dame before a first round playoff game between the Indiana Hoosiers and Notre Dame Fighting Irish at Notre Dame Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images | USA TODAY Sports via Reuters Connect

"Notre Dame, just by being Notre Dame, has birthed a new generation of hate," Hayes writes. "If there truly is a fine line between envy and jealousy and you make me want to puke, Gen Z college football fans are quickly and painfully figuring out what Millennials, Gen X and Boomers have known all along."

Hayes goes on to explain that, unlike in generations past, this new wave of hatred for the Irish stems from what many view as preferential treatment from the CFP Selection Committee and the other powers that be at the top of college football.

"They don’t care about what went into favorable access negotiated with the College Football Playoff," Hayes writes. "... They’re visual, and they see two things: Notre Dame doesn’t play in the SEC or Big Ten and face the best competition in college football, and Notre Dame essentially gets a free ride to the big party at the end of the season."

Hayes is, of course, referring to the new agreement that Notre Dame got from College Football Playoff officials following their exclusion from last season's tournament, which guaranteed them a spot in the playoff if they finished within the top 12 of the final CFP Rankings moving forward.

This unprecedented move enraged many of the sport's other top contenders, as it was rightly viewed as an attempt to placate Notre Dame, even though they still refuse to join a conference and don't have to play in any potential conference title game.

The Irish Have Always Played by Their Own Rules

Head coach Marcus Freeman during a Notre Dame football practice at Irish Athletic Center on Thursday, | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

While many of the sport's newer fans are finally realizing that Notre Dame essentially plays by a different set of rules, this is really nothing new. The Irish have always gotten special treatment from those at the top of college football simply because there isn't another brand out there as big as they are, historically speaking.

Long before Alabama, Ohio State, Michigan, Indiana, and Georgia in the college football world, there was Notre Dame. Long before there was any NIL money, transfer portal, or College Football Playoff, there was Notre Dame.

The Irish may have been put on the back burner over the past 20 years or so, but that doesn't mean the power and influence they wield in the sport just completely disappeared. It's always been there, and now it's finally been reintroduced to the consciousness of the sport because Notre Dame has finally gotten back to being what they always were.

Gen Z might be experiencing it for the first time, but this is the Fighting Irish that their parents, grandparents, and even great-grandparents have always known. It may have been a while, but Notre Dame is finally back to being college football's favorite villain.