https://bleacherreport.com/articles/25230453-notre-dame-ad-opposes-big-tens-cfp-bracket-model-you-have-earn-it-field

"I happen to think that there should be automatic qualifiers for the Power 4 conference champions, and there should an automatic qualifier for the highest-rated G5 champion," he told Pete Sampson of The Athletic. "But then, whether it's 12, 14, or 16 (teams), I think you have to earn it on the field.

And those should be at-large berths. I think that's the best way, the most repeatable way, to get the very best teams to compete for a national championship year-in and year-out. And I think most people agree with that. Both the decision makers, the general public, football fans, I think that's what people want to see."

I don’t like the idea of automatic qualifiers and believe that you should put the “best” or most “deserving” teams in the playoff field.

However, I do believe that you have to weigh the strength of schedule when deciding who the most deserving teams are because college schedules are not balanced. The college basketball tries to do this and football should be no different.

The only way I’d accept at large births is if they turn CCG weekend into play in games between the remaining contenders from each conference. For instance, an Illinois versus South Carolina. SMU verses Bama, Indiana vs Ole Miss. Clemson versus USC (or Iowa).

You get the picture. Then nobody can claim their SOS was better because of conference play.

It would give the ACC and Big 12 a legit shot at proving they qualify any given year without hearing how they played lower competition. Something like the 9th rated team to the 20th rated team facing off the week before the playoffs start.

No more arbitrary decisions, no more maybe getting the field right. That is a true definition of proving it on the field in my opinion. It would lend more credence to the regular season, it would match the teams politicking for those final spots.

And yes, that would mean it’s 14 team field, and the teams would actually decide who qualifies ( the winners of that week would advance to the playoffs, and the Top 2 teams would earn a bye).

You could also just take the top 24 instead of top 25. That would make it a 16 team playoff field with no bye week. Start the season week 0, and end the season New Year’s Day. Make college football better. Let the teams decide instead of a committee (no conference auto bids as a G5 team should qualify within the Top 24).

I don’t want to hear "you aren’t what your record says you are," and the P2 have more difficult schedules. Heck, ASU would have defeated Texas if the refs weren’t told to make sure Texas advanced. And yes I’m calling it a conspiracy. Just like Cam Newton fumbled, threw an interception against OBD, and Thomas Dyer’s wrist hit the turf.

We know TV execs want to see ratings juggernauts. I want to see a "why Ole Miss lost to 4-8 Kentucky" scenario in one of those play in games(and yes, I believe last year that would have happened). No more excuses.

Notre Dame is going to go the way of its Independent Life Support System ACC.

When the ACC craters, ND's independence hopefully goes along with it.

By the way, Coach, how did playing 4 G5 opponents work out for you in 2024? That Northern Illinois team was a real witch, right?

Notre Dame football is an army of one.

Oregon’s viewership numbers are many times in the same ballpark when nationally televised. Therefore, when you add all the other Marquee names in the BIG, Notre Dame can go kick dirt.

NBC keeps them afloat, but to keep their contract, they have to schedule games that are somewhat interesting. I rarely watch them play. They always seem over-rated.

Ranking sports teams for play-off berths is always subjective. Too many variables impact a football teams performance, weather, injuries, etc. Make the playoff seeding as fair as possible, and play ball.

I suppose some fans are "truly" interested in having the best 16 teams, but I think a lot of resistance to the 5-11 model with 11 at-large is due to opinions that SEC bias will play out in those 11 at-large.

If ACC, Big12, Group of 5 really want their own participation and geographical dispersal, then my proposal is "no conference will have more than 4 entrants."

How often is the SEC's fifth team going to be better than most of the remaining field?

Even in seasons in which B1G and SEC both get four, that will leave 8 to be spread elsewhere. Otherwise, if the SEC gets 6 of the best 16, and the B1G 4, then that leaves 6 instead of 8 to spread around.

If a year comes along in which the B1G gets 3, and the SEC 4, then 9 to spread around.

A limit of 4 may also lead to more interest in B1G and SEC toward the end of the regular season. As well as more interest in the Big12 which might be aligning for 3 instead of 2 entrants, because as long as the SEC bias is in play for at-large the Big12 won't be getting 3.

40 minutes ago, Jon Joseph said:

Notre Dame is going to go the way of its Independent Life Support System ACC.

When the ACC craters, ND's independence hopefully goes along with it.

By the way, Coach, how did playing 4 G5 opponents work out for you in 2024? That Northern Illinois team was a real witch, right?

I love and respect many things about Notre Dame.

I love the history. I love Rudy. I love the fact Notre Dame not only has great football players, but great young men with high academic achievements. I love the song "Here Come The Irish". I love coach Holtz, even if he's a bit over the top. I love the sign "Play Like a Champion. I love Touchdown Gosh. I love the uniforms.

But it's time for Notre Dame to join a conference. Actually it's time for college football to let Notre Dame know it's time to join a conference. Nobody has gotten more favorable positions than Notre Dame. They didn't have to split any of their playoff run revenue. They get that massive NBC deal, and they get their own special seat with the CFP committee.

Time to save the ACC and join up Notre Dame.

Notre Dame and NBC money.... aside from the Big Ten, is there any other conference with NBC as a partner that would make the membership transition easy?

Would be interesting to see the results of an open bidding process for Notre Dame? My guess is that each of the four major conferences would be willing to consider an unequal higher share at least for a period of time? Though the SEC didn't offer that to Texas. The Pac12 didn't offer it to USC to retain them, or the Big12 to Texas to retain them.

History is history. Too many of the programs that won decades ago still think they deserve some special consideration. You have to earn respect every day.

Notre Dame last won the NC in 1988. 37 years ago. Nearly half of college football fans were not even born.

Totally understand the NBC contract at the time......but it's 2025. Time to join the BIG.

I just want the CFP model that would let us still schedule a good team like Alabama in non-conference play...

28 minutes ago, Thomallister1291 said:

I just want the CFP model that would let us still schedule a good team like Alabama in non-conference play...

My friend, that would be the 4-4-2-2-1-3 format that B1G commissioner Tony Petitti is backing.

With 4 AQs and the committee out of the equation for choosing the four teams, and 4 AQs for the SEC, a B1G/SEC football challenge would be likely to happen. It could take a while as teams clear their existing OOC schedules, but the money from such a series would justify paying teams off to get out of scheduled OOC games.

Then add a conference champ game and two PO play-in games in the last week of the regular season, and more money rolls in. Sankey switching to a 5-11 format is not for the good of the game but, in his reasoning, for the good of his conference. Why Sankey wants to leave money behind so the SEC's weak sisters can go 6-6 and qualify for a bowl game, well, I don't get it.

On the other hand, your spot-on comment, I get 100%.

2 hours ago, Thomallister1291 said:

I just want the CFP model that would let us still schedule a good team like Alabama in non-conference play...

You are incredibly consistent with your request on this, and as Jon suggests--if we move to four teams from the B1G and SEC each...then the losses in nonconference will not harm Oregon making the Playoff, since it is dependent upon making the top four in the B1G.

So cheer for the new format to be approved in the next year, because if it does--your dream could happen.

Without automatic qualifiers--we don't dare lose a non-conference game, as it will hurt the overall record and lose the respect of the crazy committee deciding "on the data." But if we believe we can make the B1G top four--we can schedule a home-and-home with the 'Tide, and it won't hurt us. Blockbuster games...huge eyes on it, fun atmosphere, big money for the programs...

How about a home-and-home with Miami?

How lit-up would Autzen get?

I am really opposed to large numbers of AQs for the so-called Power 2. Weight schedules like Basketball does with RPI. Nobody bitches about that formula, and it actually rewards schools that schedule highly competitive OOC games like Georgia-Clemson last year and Ohio State-Texas this year.

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Wouldn't most Duck fans get jacked up to play games against such OOC opponents like Notre Dame or Miami rather than Portland State or Montana State? Oregon does play Oregon State this year and Georgia always plays Georgia Tech, but I, as a Dawg fan, would much rather substitute say Wisconsin or Michigan for one of our walkovers. I know most Dawg partisans feel precisely the same way.

Play challenging schedules and kick down the barriers to the playoffs by winning big games in such schedules. And as a Duck fan, I would love to see Notre Dame and Miami for example.