Notre Dame’s independence is one of the last truly unique things about college football compared to the NFL.
1. The Big 10 and SEC already basically resemble the AFC/NFC. Every year the champion is likely to come from one of these two conferences.
2. Players are getting paid.
3. Transfer portal with no limitations is basically free agency.
4. General managers and other front office type staffers make college team structure much more similar to the structure of NFL teams.
The soul of the sport is dying. While the SEC and Big 10 gut the sport we love, you have one big brand standing up to it all in Notre Dame.
Yet, all people do is complain and whine about Notre Dame’s independence. It is truly bizarre.
If you hate Notre Dame being independent, you hate college football. Go root for your local NFL team instead!
“One of my main obligations and responsibilities to this university is to make sure Marcus wakes up every day knowing that he is supported and valued by Notre Dame. I can say with 100% certainty, he feels that way." - Notre Dame AD Pete Bevacqua on Marcus Freeman
How today played out is EXACTLY why I hammered the terrible leadership of the ACC. The Alabama/SEC battle is the one they should have fought the last month. Instead they focused all their arrows on Notre Dame.
The final AP Poll of the regular season:
9. Notre Dame
10. Miami
11. Alabama
The gap between Notre Dame and Miami in voting is bigger than the gap between Miami and Alabama. Notre Dame is also closer to No. 8 Oklahoma in voting than No. 10 Miami.
To all high school and portal recruits:
If you want to play for a school with a brand big enough to shut down college football’s media cycle on arguably the biggest day of the year, come to Notre Dame.
Biggest brand in the sport and it’s not close.
ND against the world.
“On behalf of the entire Notre Dame community, I want to express how incredibly proud we are of our football student-athletes for their accomplishments both on and off the field this season.
We are deeply grateful for the exceptional leadership of Vice President and Director of Athletics Pete Bevacqua, Head Coach Marcus Freeman, and the entire coaching staff.
Our pride stems not only from this team’s success on the field but from the values they embody: faith, perseverance, selflessness, and a steadfast commitment to the University."
—University President Rev. Robert A. Dowd, C.S.C.
Again, my only take on all of this:
Why not have Miami and BYU ahead of Notre Dame last week or the week before?
Genuinely the only question I have with all of this.
That’s why I felt as though Notre Dame would have made it.
JMO: Notre Dame and Miami should have made it.
ESPN's Jen Lada on Marcus Freeman's message to his team:
"He said that usually he has answers or reasons for why these things happen. He has none & that was unusual. He said he has no answers. It doesn't make sense. It doesn't add up why ND is not in this playoff field."
Yes @NDFootball left out of the playoffs is hard to comprehend. Can the committee logically explain how they could have ND in the Top 12 ahead of Miami for 5 weeks and then leave them out in the end, after Miami lost to 2 currently unranked teams. Where is the logic??
I really, really, really, really hope the leadership at Notre Dame is as pissed at what ESPN and the ACC did to them the last month as I am and fans are.
I'd go to war with the ACC.
Find any legal reason to get out of that deal and if you can't, make sure the world knows you're getting out in 2030 when the buyout goes down. See how well that works out for the ACC in future ESPN negotiations.