Doug Benson

My own personal “safe space” / Opinions are my own.

[Jordan Familant @jordan_familant]

You forgot to include this voter interaction!

[Doug Benson @nickt00ns]

@murphy324 @THEJohnCassio @SXMCollege @dannykanell @DustyDvoracek Kelly famously tried to leave the program after the 4-8 season in 2016. Nobody would hire him because you’d have to be the dumbest AD in the country to hire a coach that put together such an abysmal performance.

[Randy Clemens™ MJM Strategies Radio 🎼 @bostonrandy]

@KeithOlbermann

[Notre Dame Football @NDFootball]

How did he do that?

“Perfectly, I thought.”

#GoIrish☘️

[Bruce Straughan @bruce_straughan]

There’s only one thing left to do now.

Win it all for Lou this year!!

RIP Lou Holtz ☘️🙏🏼

[Bruce Straughan @bruce_straughan]

As Notre Dame Nation continues to pray for Coach Lou Holtz and his family it’s a great time to watch arguably his most powerful speech ever ☘️

[Bruce Straughan @bruce_straughan]

As Irish Nation prays for Coach Lou Holtz who’s now in hospice care it’s a good time to remember the man at his best…☘️🙏🏼

[John Massingale @JohnMassingale4]

2023 Georgia

- 12-0
- Narrowly loses SECCG
- Drops 4 spots

2025 Bama

- 10-2
- Blown out in historic fashion in the SECCG
- Doesn’t drop

Got it.

[Bryan Driskell @CoachD178]

Second time in three years the CFB Playoff committee has completely lied and/or twisted logic to punish a dominant team.

Florida State in 2023 and Notre Dame in 2025.

The team that benefitted both times is Alabama and the SEC.

Remember when 10-2 and No. 2 Auburn - who beat UGA and Bama by double digits in the regular season - lost to UGA in the SEC title game 28-7? They dropped 5 spots to No. 7. Who replaced them? Alabama, who they beat 26-14 a week earlier.

That is NOT a coincidence.

[Jonas Gray @JonasLGray]

I’m so sick of the @NDFootball vs Miami argument — let’s stay grounded in what’s actually true — not feelings, not conference politics, not just “but head-to-head.” Just straight facts.

Yes, Miami beat Notre Dame 27–24 in Week 1. Nobody is denying that. But the playoff isn’t about who looked good in August — it’s about who was better over 12 full games and who actually earned a playoff spot.

Now look at the entire résumé:

Notre Dame has 10 FBS wins.
Miami has 9 FBS wins and an FCS win.
Those are not the same.

Notre Dame’s two losses came to ranked, playoff-level teams (Miami and Texas A&M).
Miami’s two losses came to unranked conference opponents (Louisville and SMU).
Again — very different résumés.

Notre Dame has zero bad losses, two ranked wins, and played the stronger schedule based on total opponent FBS wins (ND: 75 | Miami: 69).
ND also won all 10 games by double digits — dominance from start to finish.

Here’s the part nobody can debate:

Every major poll and ranking system has Notre Dame ahead of Miami.

• CFP: ND 10 | Miami 12
• AP: ND 9 | Miami 12
• Coaches: ND 9 | Miami 12
• FPI: ND top 3
• SP+: ND top 5
• FEI: ND top 5
• Sagarin: ND top 5

There isn’t a single analytic system — human or computer — that ranks Miami above Notre Dame.

Miami finished third in the ACC and didn’t reach the title game.
Notre Dame finished with a top-10 national profile and top-5 efficiency numbers.

And here’s the key part — straight from the CFP committee chair:

Notre Dame and Miami were compared directly… and Notre Dame STILL came out ahead — even after head-to-head.

Why? Because the committee evaluates the entire season, not one Saturday in August.

Notre Dame checks every single playoff box. Miami doesn’t check half of them — and they do NOT deserve to be in over Notre Dame.

Notre Dame has:
• More FBS wins
• No bad losses
• Two ranked wins
• A stronger overall résumé
• Real statistical balance
• All double-digit victories
• Better opponents
• Top-10 placement in every human poll
• Top-5 numbers in every major efficiency system
• A résumé the committee already confirmed is stronger

Miami:
• Played an FCS team
• Has two unranked losses
• Has one ranked win
• Finished 3rd in the ACC
• Trails Notre Dame in every category that matters

And here is the truth no one can twist:

There is not a single factual category where Miami has a better playoff résumé than Notre Dame — not one.

Head-to-head matters, but only as one piece of the full puzzle. And when you zoom out, it’s obvious:

Notre Dame belongs in the CFP.
Miami does NOT deserve to be in over Notre Dame. Period. #GoIrish

[Barstool SEC @SECBarstool]

This is being reported like a South American hostage negotiation.

The Governor of Louisiana is involved, presumably to help fund Kelly’s $54 million dollar buyout via tax dollars.

Greatest sport in the fucking world.

[Todd Fuhrman @ToddFuhrman]

Rivalries make college football great…it’s quite impressive if Lincoln Riley’s greatest legacy as HC at USC is pushing to end ND vs USC

[Chief @BarstoolChief]

I appreciate them not ruining my day

[Rational ND Fan @rationalNDfan]

“Those who know Notre Dame, no explanation is necessary. Those who don’t, no explanation will suffice.”
- Lou Holtz
- - Marcus Freeman
- - - Joel Klatt

[Tony Altimore @TJAltimore]

USC vs. ND: A RIVALRY WE NEED TO PROTECT

There's really nothing like the unique, century-old national rivalry between #USC & #NotreDame, we must preserve it, even if it's hard.

Think about what it takes for games big enough to be the focus of obsessive Hemmingway characters, and to credibly distract the "Die Hard" characters:

🏆 15 Heismans: #1 + #2
🏆 22 National Titles: #3 (tied)
🏆 1072 Draft Picks: #1 + #2
🏆 194 All-Americans: #1 + #5

These are the best two private school football programs in the sport (nobody else is even close), and this rivalry was built on a foundation of deep respect that is rare. Fans are more engaged with each other than other rivalries, and it feels like the rest of the world goes on pause once the ball kicks off.

Uniquely, these two fledgling schools were both built off more 19th century chutzpah than bricks in their early days, and both quickly rose to to be truly great institutions, AAU members, and to exceed their founders wildest dreams... and they unabashedly used football -- and each other -- to help make that happen.

We both have our natural rivals (UCLA, BC), and the local rivals really fueled by too a bit more hate than we like to admit, and aren't even playing much anymore (Mich/Pur, Cal/Stan... both of whom the OTHER one now plays, ironically enough), but this showdown, whose history book is called "The Glamour Game" stands alone every year.

No matter how much of a pain it is for scheduling, we owe to both our grandparents and to our grandchildren to keep the rivalry alive.

I grew up thinking I wanted to go to Notre Dame, and then fell in love with USC. One of the things that made USC palatable for my Dad (who played for MSU, and was a G.A. coach for their legendary 10-10 tie vs. Ara P's best Irish team) was that I would always be on the other side of Notre Dame... (He hated every minute of that South Bend college visit... LOL)

Fight On Trojans, and sending a salute to all of my Irish Friends. Let's keep this rolling for future generations.
✌️🍀🏈

[Pat Forde @ByPatForde]

Column: In a sport where greed keeps undercutting tradition, the USC-Notre Dame rivalry needs to continue. That’s primarily on USC, which is in danger of further chiseling away its identity.

https://t.co/xE4lUgKBtM

[Gabriel Greenlee @TheTrojanBlade]

If the SC/ND series ends it will be an absolute tragedy. Games like this are what separate us from the NFL. Ending it is cowardly. I don’t care about strength of schedule or playoff positioning. Lots of teams have 1 hard non-con game a year. Make it work.

[Jim @Cackalacman]

Phil Mickelson 2021 win at Kiawah in the PGA Championship at 51 yrs old is still more impressive than Rory 2025 Masters win.

[Phil Mickelson @PhilMickelson]

What in incredible Masters 😳
Congrats to Rory on his win and for completing the career grand slam. Amazing 👍