2025 College Football Playoffs

[Notre Dame Joe]

Probably the people who benefit from a group of biased individuals who are able to be persuaded through media pressure campaigns and financial incentives. The reason we moved away from computers was so that shit like today was possible. Today was a feature, not a bug.

It's good to remember that it was only briefly that the BCS was bound by the computers. Well the computers produced the 'wrong' result when they said that Southern Cal had not played that tough of a schedule. They changed the system the next year.

 

[Notre Dame Joe]

Do you have a link to the exact quote?

I referenced this earlier, but there has already been a lot legislation floating around about completely overhauling college athletics including specifically the media rights issues / conflicts of interest. There are probably a half dozen college sports issues being lobbied about but one of the biggest is that people really don't like the conference "realignment" and how conference/network partner oriented things have become and how that destroyed the PAC12.

After listening to that I'm not sure how I would interpret that. But yes, there is already a lot of momentum behind "regulating" (aka blowing up) the media rights framework for college sports, and he could be alluding to the fact that if you're Disney you might've just made a very wealthy and very influential enemy. Him saying the most powerful people are the ones that cut the checks is true (and it's why the Big 12 and ND were treated how they were) and he sure seems very... careful... with how he phrased that last part.

ETA: If you look at the two major bills that have been circulating, they both attempt to reign in NIL and revenue sharing. One of them also would blow up the current SEC/ESPN love fest by changing how media rights are pooled and packaged to networks. I believe the Big Ten and SEC both oppose that provision right now but like 90%+ of other schools want something like that because of how realignment to chase the almighty dollar has been a disaster. Add ND to the mix with an axe to grind against ESPN and lobby some bi-partisan support and who knows which way this thing goes.

It is a nice dream. I somehow doubt the legislation would cut against the major organizations like the BUG/SEC and ESPN. It sounds like they want to reduce the power of the players by restricting NIL.

They should have let the players cool off for 24 hours before voting.

Pop Tarts Bowl has a 3 million payout per team.

How much of that is paid in tickets?
I am quite glad that we are not going.

 

[ozzman]

 

[peadeam]

I'll mainly be rooting for Miami to get violated and then the SEC teams to get violated. Apart from that I have not much interest.
I'll go for Tex Tech. But predict OSU.
Edit: I'll also root for JMU and Tulane to get completely humiliated and those games to be over by quarter time so the ratings are almost zero.

I honestly don’t think I’ll watch a minute of it. I already have PTSD when I see anything ESPN.

 

[IrishBryan77]

California kid who fell in love with Carl Yastrzemski and never left the Sox even in the down years. I locked everyone out of my dorm in '85 because I was sick of the people in my face after the Buckner play. BTW....I still blame Bob Stanley more!

I'm a Red Sox fan....I get it. 🤣

 

[IrishTusker]

One of the committee members was Mike Riley, whose bio on the CFP website says he was a member of Alabama's 1973 national championship team. Head-to-head results aren't always decisive.

 

[KPENN]

 

[IrishTusker]

Also, why did Ivan Maisel recuse himself from discussing ND? Was Mike Riley recused from discussing Bama? If Maisel is recused and all the members with SEC or ACC ties -who stood to directly benefit their schools' bottom lines by excluding ND- are not, there should not be any recusals. If everyone on the committee with a conflict of interest greater than Maisel had to recuse, there would be nobody left.

 

[allenm5333]

Also, why did Ivan Maisel recuse himself from discussing ND? Was Mike Riley recused from discussing Bama? If Maisel is recused and all the members with SEC or ACC ties -who stood to directly benefit their schools' bottom lines by excluding ND- are not, there should not be any recusals. If everyone on the committee with a conflict of interest greater than Maisel had to recuse, there would be nobody left.

He just wrote a book about Nd, if that is why he had to…

 

[US_Highway14]

It's about 8 AM on a Monday and I still cannot believe we didn't make the CFP. Its gonna be a long, long time until I get over this.

 

[vicknd1982]

Yes amen brother, dont know what Nd does from here... Someone has to take down this Sec biasness... Complete sham

 

[NDFAN2008]

Speaking of rankings how the hell did Michigan finish 18th? Lost by 11 to Oklahoma, Lost by 18 to USC, Lost by 18 to Ohio State, zero ranked wins. After looking at that and with the gurantees ND has going forward we shouldn't be left out going 10-2 from here on out with the protection. It was also a very odd year, barely any upsets.

 

[Jiggafini19Deux]

As someone with an overdeveloped sense of fairness, I've lost an incredible amount of faith in this sport.

And the punditry is absolutely awful. A very large portion of the Texas Tech vs BYU broadcast was two announcers pleading their case for Miami. That's not at all right as far as I'm concerned, but nothing surprises me anymore. Brazen, craven behavior in plain sight is just normal now. Every team that's ever lost a conference championship game dropped in the polls/rankings. Alabama lost by three scores and didn't budge. I think that says a lot about what everyone else was up against, be it Notre Dame or anyone else.

As for Miami, this "committee" had them behind Notre Dame for weeks. Then in the final rankings, after neither had played, they jumped Miami over ND for reasons I still don't quite understand.

It's all bullshit. Zero credibility from here on in, and their solution is going to be go to more teams, which ultimately doesn't solve anything because they can pull this same shit again whether there are 12 teams, 16 teams, or 24.

Not a real big fan of this sport at the moment, and it isn't because the kids can get paid and move freely via transfer. Least of anyone's issues, but to each their own.

 

[IrishTusker]

Speaking of rankings how the hell did Michigan finish 18th? Lost by 11 to Oklahoma, Lost by 18 to USC, Lost by 18 to Ohio State, zero ranked wins. After looking at that and with the gurantees ND has going forward we shouldn't be left out going 10-2 from here on out with the protection. It was also a very odd year, barely any upsets.

We definitely had a lot of bad luck, and normally 10-2 ND is in. But this future "protection" is illusory; the committee will just drop us to 13 if they want to keep us out. The problem is having a committee making these decisions, rather than a BCS-style formula.

 

[DCK_1981]

I’m glad we chose to sit out the bowl game. Let the pundits knock is for it. Look what happened to FSU a few years ago after they felt screwed. We have more to lose than gain by playing in a bowl. I still can’t believe we were told the whole time we were the 8th best team and after winning our last 2 games by 63 and 29 we were finally told we weren’t good enough. Screw you ESPN for just using us for drama and a storyline.

 

[Green Mountains]

OSU played in a Conference Championship Game and was downgraded in the rankings. BYU played in a Conference Championship Game, losing by 27 points, and was downgraded 2 spots. Alabama played in a Conference Championship Game, was beat by 21 points (and it wasn't even that close), had negative 3 yards rushing, and was praised for it's performance.

Either no one moves after championship game weekend or everyone is treated the same. Neither happened.

The moment Alabama moved above ND after its "remarkable" win over 5-7 Auburn, I knew the fix was in.

And fuck ESPN - "the home of SEC football"

 

[Johannes]

We definitely had a lot of bad luck, and normally 10-2 ND is in. But this future "protection" is illusory; the committee will just drop us to 13 if they want to keep us out. The problem is having a committee making these decisions, rather than a BCS-style formula.

It's also illusory because the playoff will be expanded in the next few years, if not 2026.

 

[tko]

As someone with an overdeveloped sense of fairness, I've lost an incredible amount of faith in this sport.

And the punditry is absolutely awful. A very large portion of the Texas Tech vs BYU broadcast was two announcers pleading their case for Miami. That's not at all right as far as I'm concerned, but nothing surprises me anymore. Brazen, craven behavior in plain sight is just normal now. Every team that's ever lost a conference championship game dropped in the polls/rankings. Alabama lost by three scores and didn't budge. I think that says a lot about what everyone else was up against, be it Notre Dame or anyone else.

As for Miami, this "committee" had them behind Notre Dame for weeks. Then in the final rankings, after neither had played, they jumped Miami over ND for reasons I still don't quite understand.

It's all bullshit. Zero credibility from here on in, and their solution is going to be go to more teams, which ultimately doesn't solve anything because they can pull this same shit again whether there are 12 teams, 16 teams, or 24.

Not a real big fan of this sport at the moment, and it isn't because the kids can get paid and move freely via transfer. Least of anyone's issues, but to each their own.

Further proof we are on a timeline into oblivion. My faith in almost every facet of life is gone. It's like I'm outside looking down knowing the script for all of it.

 

[Hautian Domer]

I’m glad we chose to sit out the bowl game. Let the pundits knock is for it. Look what happened to FSU a few years ago after they felt screwed. We have more to lose than gain by playing in a bowl. I still can’t believe we were told the whole time we were the 8th best team and after winning our last 2 games by 63 and 29 we were finally told we weren’t good enough. Screw you ESPN for just using us for drama and a storyline.

It isn’t a true “playoff.” The committee isn’t interested in getting in the best 12 teams,
period. Automatic qualifiers from conferences and group of 5 proves that. There’s always going to be some subjective analysis to it, but I don’t care if it’s Ohio State + Indiana + Oregon + Texas Tech + Notre Dame + rest of SEC, get the best teams in. This is an invitational so all schools with a footprint across the US can get in. It’s a sham.

 

[BleedBlueGold]

As someone with an overdeveloped sense of fairness, I've lost an incredible amount of faith in this sport.

And the punditry is absolutely awful. A very large portion of the Texas Tech vs BYU broadcast was two announcers pleading their case for Miami. That's not at all right as far as I'm concerned, but nothing surprises me anymore. Brazen, craven behavior in plain sight is just normal now. Every team that's ever lost a conference championship game dropped in the polls/rankings. Alabama lost by three scores and didn't budge. I think that says a lot about what everyone else was up against, be it Notre Dame or anyone else.

As for Miami, this "committee" had them behind Notre Dame for weeks. Then in the final rankings, after neither had played, they jumped Miami over ND for reasons I still don't quite understand.

It's all bullshit. Zero credibility from here on in, and their solution is going to be go to more teams, which ultimately doesn't solve anything because they can pull this same shit again whether there are 12 teams, 16 teams, or 24.

Not a real big fan of this sport at the moment, and it isn't because the kids can get paid and move freely via transfer. Least of anyone's issues, but to each their own.

Bottom line, college football has changed for the worst and there is really no sign of it getting better. Every time I hear "join a conference," I see it coming from the mouth of some schmuck who's content selling their soul for idols: money, fame, trophies, etc.

I'm am no longer shocked by the immense level of brain rot within people. This country is a dumpster fire of stupidity and idiocracy. The powers that be only care about more money and more power. They easily dupe the mindless idiots who ingest their propaganda. It is so telling that any and every Disney/ESPN/ABC affiliate lobbied against ND, but those who work for FOX and others who are more independent media actually told the truth about it. It's rinse, repeat in every aspect of American lives.

Notre Dame got pushed out of the playoffs because of Disney/ESPN, the SEC, and the ACC stood to lose money. The number of pundits who have flat out admitted to this ("The committee did not want to leave out the ACC. This is because of Duke winning. And you can't punish Alabama." bla bla bla). Just wait. They will change the rules to exclude the G5 next year. They will increase the playoffs to 16 teams. And that will only open up the floodgates for more of this bullshit because they'll favor teams like Texas, Michigan, and USC over ND. More B1G and SEC teams will move into the conversation with a few bones thrown to the Big12 and ACC. ND will continue to get treated like trash. Not because ND is trash. Not because they think less of ND. But because ND has the nerve (and ability) to stand against the power structure and "steal" money, they feel is owed to them and to them alone.

To any mouth breathing troll out in the world who hates ND, maybe just sit this one out.

 

[Hautian Domer]

I despise how conference championships can hurt one team (BYU) but not the other (Alabama). This is the least equitable sport out there.

 

[Hautian Domer]

Bottom line, college football has changed for the worst and there is really no sign of it getting better. Every time I hear "join a conference," I see it coming from the mouth of some schmuck who's content selling their soul for idols: money, fame, trophies, etc.

I'm am no longer shocked by the immense level of brain rot within people. This country is a dumpster fire of stupidity and idiocracy. The powers that be only care about more money and more power. The easily dupe the mindless idiots who ingest their propaganda. It's rinse, repeat in every aspect of American lives.

Notre Dame got pushed out of the playoffs because of Disney/ESPN, the SEC, and the ACC stood to lose money. The number of pundits who have flat out admitted to this ("The committee did not want to leave out the ACC. This is because of Duke winning. And you can't punish Alabama." bla bla bla). Just wait. They will change the rules to exclude the G5 next year. They will increase the playoffs to 16 teams. And that will only open up the floodgates for more of this bullshit because they'll favor teams like Texas, Michigan, and USC over ND. More B1G and SEC teams will move into the conversation with a few bones thrown to the Big12 and ACC. ND will continue to get treated like trash. Not because ND is trash. Not because they think less of ND. But because ND has the nerve (and ability) to stand against the power structure and "steal" money, they feel is owed to them and to them alone.

To any mouth breathing troll out in the world who hates ND, maybe just sit this one out.

Well, there is a MOU in place for next year going forward. That’s rubbed a lot of people the wrong way. I, personally, think this is the committees way of showing Notre Dame the middle finger because of the MOU.

 

[ab2cmiller]

I despise how conference championships can hurt one team (BYU) but not the other (Alabama). This is the least equitable sport out there.

I truly believe that if Virginia had won, they would've treated BYU and Bama the same. Either dropping them both or keeping both the same. The threat of not having an ACC team meant that the Committee had to do some creative accounting.

 

[Irish#1]

OSU played in a Conference Championship Game and was downgraded in the rankings. BYU played in a Conference Championship Game, losing by 27 points, and was downgraded 2 spots. Alabama played in a Conference Championship Game, was beat by 21 points (and it wasn't even that close), had negative 3 yards rushing, and was praised for it's performance.

Either no one moves after championship game weekend or everyone is treated the same. Neither happened.

The moment Alabama moved above ND after its "remarkable" win over 5-7 Auburn, I knew the fix was in.

And fuck ESPN - "the home of SEC football"

CG results should be taken into account. Afterall, they played the game.

I'm still numb this morning. I don't remember the last time I was this mad. For the committee to contradict themselves multiple times shows you there was an agenda and bias. If this was an attempt to force ND to join a conference as I believe it was, those people don't really understand Notre Dame. If anything, this will harden the resolve to stay independent.

I also am happy the team decided not to play in a bowl. Give ESPN the finger and none of the value it gets from airing a Notre Dame game.

Looking at the silver lining, maybe this snub is the motivation that gets us a Natty next year.

 

[IrishTusker]

Bottom line, college football has changed for the worst and there is really no sign of it getting better. Every time I hear "join a conference," I see it coming from the mouth of some schmuck who's content selling their soul for idols: money, fame, trophies, etc.

I'm am no longer shocked by the immense level of brain rot within people. This country is a dumpster fire of stupidity and idiocracy. The powers that be only care about more money and more power. They easily dupe the mindless idiots who ingest their propaganda. It is so telling that any and every Disney/ESPN/ABC affiliate lobbied against ND, but those who work for FOX and others who are more independent media actually told the truth about it. It's rinse, repeat in every aspect of American lives.

Notre Dame got pushed out of the playoffs because of Disney/ESPN, the SEC, and the ACC stood to lose money. The number of pundits who have flat out admitted to this ("The committee did not want to leave out the ACC. This is because of Duke winning. And you can't punish Alabama." bla bla bla). Just wait. They will change the rules to exclude the G5 next year. They will increase the playoffs to 16 teams. And that will only open up the floodgates for more of this bullshit because they'll favor teams like Texas, Michigan, and USC over ND. More B1G and SEC teams will move into the conversation with a few bones thrown to the Big12 and ACC. ND will continue to get treated like trash. Not because ND is trash. Not because they think less of ND. But because ND has the nerve (and ability) to stand against the power structure and "steal" money, they feel is owed to them and to them alone.

To any mouth breathing troll out in the world who hates ND, maybe just sit this one out.

That surprised me. Finebaum, McElroy, Pete Thamel, etc., said as much. Someone here said that if OU had lost to Bama (can't wait to watch that game again btw) then Texas might have jumped us. After all, they beat A&M. Etc., etc. I don't know if that would have happened, but I can't say I wouldn't expect it given what did happen. The committee was rewatching a game ND lost by 3 points 3 months ago instead of a game Bama lost by 21 points the day before the selection. Huh?

I would normally think that in 12 team playoff, ND is safe at 12-0 or 11-1, and usually in at 10-2. We had very bad luck this year, as others have observed, with Miami's losses, the ACC tiebreaker, OU/Bama, etc. I don't really see an alternative to avoid expansion, because we can't leave out a team that could have a won a title, as we did this year. A 10-2 team won the title last year. And I would think that 10-2 ND is safe in a 16 team field.

But I have some doubts about whether 10-2 ND would be safe given what happened. The bigger issue is having a committee make these decisions. It isn't an accident that we were ahead of both Bama and Miami in the AP and coaches polls and behind them in the committee ranking. A committee should not be making these decisions.

 

[Dale]

They should have let the players cool off for 24 hours before voting.

Pop Tarts Bowl has a 3 million payout per team.

That’s not realistic. The bowls are decided within hours of the CFP rankings.

 

[rtrn2glory]

Really starting to think that many team's fanbases are used as pawns to drive up the ratings for the reality show that the playoff is obviously becoming. To make us think for the last 4 weeks that we were in complete control of our own destiny is the most ruthless thing I can remember the media doing in sports

 

[IrishLax]

Bottom line, college football has changed for the worst and there is really no sign of it getting better. Every time I hear "join a conference," I see it coming from the mouth of some schmuck who's content selling their soul for idols: money, fame, trophies, etc.

I'm am no longer shocked by the immense level of brain rot within people. This country is a dumpster fire of stupidity and idiocracy. The powers that be only care about more money and more power. They easily dupe the mindless idiots who ingest their propaganda. It is so telling that any and every Disney/ESPN/ABC affiliate lobbied against ND, but those who work for FOX and others who are more independent media actually told the truth about it. It's rinse, repeat in every aspect of American lives.

Notre Dame got pushed out of the playoffs because of Disney/ESPN, the SEC, and the ACC stood to lose money. The number of pundits who have flat out admitted to this ("The committee did not want to leave out the ACC. This is because of Duke winning. And you can't punish Alabama." bla bla bla). Just wait. They will change the rules to exclude the G5 next year. They will increase the playoffs to 16 teams. And that will only open up the floodgates for more of this bullshit because they'll favor teams like Texas, Michigan, and USC over ND. More B1G and SEC teams will move into the conversation with a few bones thrown to the Big12 and ACC. ND will continue to get treated like trash. Not because ND is trash. Not because they think less of ND. But because ND has the nerve (and ability) to stand against the power structure and "steal" money, they feel is owed to them and to them alone.

To any mouth breathing troll out in the world who hates ND, maybe just sit this one out.

Great post, bottom line is that if we had our media deal with ESPN instead of NBC does anyone doubt we would've been included? I didn't think so. That's how you know that the whole thing is a corrupt farce.

 

[IrishLax]

Hell, let's root for OR. I know they have Dinty Moore Stew and Lanning can be an arrogant SOB, but have they even ever won a CFB Championship? Either them or TTU, who cares anyway.

Yeah I won't be watching the games but I definitely hope Oregon or TT comes out on top. If not, then I want Ohio State because they've been weirdly respectful and complimentary this whole year.

 

[KPENN]