The Irish Are In A Fighting Mood
" I used her, she used me and neither one cared...
..We were getting our share"
( Night Moves- Bob Seger)
Notre Dame is miffed. Angry, even. They wuz robbed. Or so they claim.
Reported Sunday by Yahoo Sports, Irish AD Pete Bevacqua said " We feel like the playoff was stolen from out student- athletes."
Stolen!? Sounds criminal! Call the people in charge of college football. No, not the NCAA. To report thievery, go right to the top!
Just dial 1-800- SAY- ESPN.
Bevacqua also said that the ACC had done "permanent damage " to their longstanding partnership with Notre Dame, apparently mainly by showing several reruns of the Miami win over the Irish from earlier this season during the final week of the college football regular season. That's grounds for permanent damage? Permanent? Heck, even the Catholic church allows for the possibility of forgiveness.
Bevacqua and Irish loyals think that the committee done 'em wrong by putting Miami ahead of Notre Dame in their final CFP rankings, thus "robbing" the Irish of their spot in the bracket.... and thus taking away their opportunity to win the national championship.
That's an interesting take. Notre Dame has had a cozy relationship with the ACC for years, including conference "membership" in virtually all sports– except football.
Why not football, you ask? Well, because Notre Dame's famous " brand" is all about football, to the point that they have enjoyed their own TV contract with NBC since 1991. In other words, Notre Dame has done what's best for Notre Dame. Nothing wrong with that....good for them.
Similarly, the ACC has done what was best for the ACC , by promoting Miami for consideration for inclusion in the CFP. Nothing wrong with that either. Conference membership comes with certain benefits, along with costs--such as splitting television money with your fellow members.
All other ND sports teams who compete as members in the ACC do not add anything to the Notre Dame brand. That includes basketball, which has been .500 or worse five of the last 10 seasons.
For that matter, the football part of the brand is not what it was decades ago. The Irish last won the National Championship back when Lou Holtz was just a pup- 1988 to be precise. Yes, they've made it back to the big game a few times, without much success, including last year's 11- point loss to Ohio State.
The Notre Dame name still stirs the souls of football fans. But with every passing year, that magic erodes a little bit more.
And this is not to say the CFP Committee is without fault. Certainly there are numerous areas for scrutiny and change. ( I always thought it was more accurate when we used the phrase " mythical national championship ").
But to my brain, the more obvious question would be how did the Irish get slotted ahead of Miami in the first place? When the two teams met, back in August, the Hurricanes won. Yes, Miami went on to lose a couple. Yes , they won by only three points over the Irish. But they won. They WON.
That tidbit of research should take priority over all the soft factors, if the decision comes down to two otherwise very comparable teams, as happened here.
(2025 football info from...ESPN)
Neither Notre Dame nor Miami had a strong schedule. Neither team played in a conference championship game. But they did play each other! And Miami won. Certainly August 31 was a while ago. But it was THIS season. We all want the regular season to "mean something ", right? Well, that game in August was meaningful. Maybe someone needs to wake up the echoes in South Bend. Otherwise we are left with this inspiration--"Come on, men, let's adjudicate one for the Gipper!"
So the Irish will sit home in an Irish stew. Again, they will do what they perceive is best for them.
And what of their relationship with the ACC, where their " partnership" has been about everything (except the biggest thing ) since 2014? Can we not gather that the ACC's angle all along has been to become the Chosen One when, someday down the road, Notre Dame finally does decide to join a conference for football? Just a thought. I don't think this long courtship has been about , say, lacrosse.
So, how to understand the ACC and Notre Dame relationship?Well, perhaps we turn to Bob Seger again..
" We weren't in love, oh no, far from it..
We weren't looking for some pie- in-the-sky summit..
We were just young and restless and bored..
Living by the sword ".
The sword in this case may be an MOU that came to light yesterday, also courtesy of Bevacqua. Per reports, he told Dan Patrick on December 8 that Notre Dame has an agreement with the CFP that the Irish will be IN next year– If they are ranked in the top twelve. (That's one memorandum that's going to cause some misunderstanding).
Huh? Where's the purity? Talk about some malleable standards! Henceforth, should the Irish not slap up a new sign to slap as they exit the locker room?
" Play Like A Top Twelve Team Today!"
Patrick Conarro
RamblinSports