2025 College Football Playoffs

[IrishinSyria]

This just struck me and forgive me if it has been mentioned: why did the the CFP Comittee (a/k/a ESPN) keep ND in the playoffs until they dropped them at the end? Well 3 of ND’s last five games were on ESPN against dog crap ACC teams. Hmm….

Relatedly, what better way to keep people watching dogshit games than by heavily implying style points matter.

Disney is good a make TV shows. They created a male soap opera. Complete with all the drama and plot twist. Lol, joking but not joking.

I was explaining this to my wife and she’s like it’s so funny that you get so worked up about a boys beauty pageant.

 

[Irish#1]

Guys, I gave up ESPN over 10 years ago. Haven't missed it one bit. Plenty of other ways to watch games for free.

 

[Bluto]

Seeing some people be like “unregulated crony capitalism/corporate collusion sucks!” and calling for broader regulation has been uhh…interesting all things considered. Haha.

“Deep State of CFB”…lol.

 

[InKellyWeTrust]

In the AI and data computation age, having 12 bros and 1 gal (all with varying financial incentives) in a closed room with zero transparency, makes so much sense...if this were a political matter and not a search for the 12 best teams. This result actually makes more and more sense when you frame it.

 

[irish2104]

Great Forbes article If You’re Shocked CFP Sacked Notre Dame, You’ve Ignored The True Reasons Here

 

[MPClinton22]

Great Forbes article If You’re Shocked CFP Sacked Notre Dame, You’ve Ignored The True Reasons Here

Really is insane when you see 1989 and 1993 laid bare like that. Time to start quietly claiming those again

 

[Some Irish Bloke]

As a fan, my season is over. Absolutely do not care who wins the National Championship. Hope the ratings are shit and I hope more teams don't accept bowl bids. At this point, let it burn.

Yep.

 

[FWIrish4]

Outside of the very obvious corruption of the committee unprecedentedly not knocking Bama for getting smoke in a title game and deciding a H2H matters at the 11th hour when it didn’t matter for 5 weeks, this is what else I’m pissed off about.

Isn’t the whole point of having a human committee is to understand the nuances and variables that a computer can’t? For example, they take injuries, coaching , etc into consideration.

They did NOT take any context into account at all.

- Ole Miss loses their coach - ended up ranked higher.
- ND played two playoff teams down to the wire in back to back games to open the season. Did anyone else play two playoff teams to start the season? No.
- ND literally lost the A&M game on the most blatant and egregious no-call of the season. Was that ever mentioned? No.
- They cited they rewatched the Miami/ND game that happened 4 months ago and Miami “looked more athletic” and their wide receivers got open.

- Their whole job is to know ND’s starting nickel was hurt in both Miami and A&M games.

- They should know Tae Johnson became a freshman all-American this year but didn’t play a role in either game.

- They should know the country’s best corner got hurt in the A&M game and could barely walk to finish it.

- They should acknowledge that once healthy and the coaching staff settling in, ND became one of the top pass efficiency defensive teams in the country. Literally 2nd in Bud Davis’s defensive pass EPA. They were top 3 in interceptions.

- They should acknowledge ND faced 4 more Top 33 offenses in SP+ after those first two games and absolutely shut them down. #12 USC, #16 Arkansas, #27 Navy and #33 Pitt.

- They should acknowledge ND’s offense against Miami was a complete shell of itself. JUST WATCH THE LITERAL NEXT GAME ND PLAYED AGAINST A&M. They went from throwing 100 sideway screens against Miami to Carr leading the country in YPA.

- NONE of those things were ever discussed. Because NO ONE in the country has that level of improvement and context needed. BUT that gutsy 4th down call against coachless 5-7 Auburn!

- ND and Miami common opponents were NOT the same unless you’re an idiot looking at the box score. Apparently we gave them too much credit to recognize the bullshit Miami was pulling.



- My final gripe is the lack of accountability and conflicts of interest. How much did ND cost Arkansas for buying out Pittman? $9.3M. The freaking chair of the committee is trying to make up $9.3M due to ND forcing him to fire his coach. How in the world is this man anywhere near deciding between another SEC team that gets his school money and ND?

Rant/over

 

[MPClinton22]

Outside of the very obvious corruption of the committee unprecedentedly not knocking Bama for getting smoke in a title game and deciding a H2H matters at the 11th hour when it didn’t matter for 5 weeks, this is what else I’m pissed off about.

Isn’t the whole point of having a human committee is to understand the nuances and variables that a computer can’t? For example, they take injuries, coaching , etc into consideration.

They did NOT take any context into account at all.

- Ole Miss loses their coach - ended up ranked higher.
- ND played two playoff teams down to the wire in back to back games to open the season. Did anyone else play two playoff teams to start the season? No.
- ND literally lost the A&M game on the most blatant and egregious no-call of the season. Was that ever mentioned? No.
- They cited they rewatched the Miami/ND game that happened 4 months ago and Miami “looked more athletic” and their wide receivers got open.

- Their whole job is to know ND’s starting nickel was hurt in both Miami and A&M games.

- They should know Tae Johnson became a freshman all-American this year but didn’t play a role in either game.

- They should know the country’s best corner got hurt in the A&M game and could barely walk to finish it.

- They should acknowledge that once healthy and the coaching staff settling in, ND became one of the top pass efficiency defensive teams in the country. Literally 2nd in Bud Davis’s defensive pass EPA. They were top 3 in interceptions.

- They should acknowledge ND faced 4 more Top 33 offenses in SP+ after those first two games and absolutely shut them down. #12 USC, #16 Arkansas, #27 Navy and #33 Pitt.

- They should acknowledge ND’s offense against Miami was a complete shell of itself. JUST WATCH THE LITERAL NEXT GAME ND PLAYED AGAINST A&M. They went from throwing 100 sideway screens against Miami to Carr leading the country in YPA.

- NONE of those things were ever discussed. Because NO ONE in the country has that level of improvement and context needed. BUT that gutsy 4th down call against coachless 5-7 Auburn!

- My final gripe is the lack of accountability and conflicts of interest. How much did ND cost Arkansas for buying out Pittman? $9.3M. The freaking chair of the committee is trying to make up $9.3M due to ND forcing him to fire his coach. How in the world is this man anywhere near deciding between another SEC team that gets his school money and ND?

Rant/over

It's all about money. Every single decision is about maximizing revenues and returns on investment into the SEC and ACC, and ADs in those conferences lining their pockets with as many playoff entrants from their respective conferences as possible. So they'll never discuss anything that looks good for us, and will hone in on anything that makes their desired end result justifiable - even if their logic is indefensible.

It's a sham of a system and it has genuinely ruined my enjoyment of CFB, and I struggle to imagine how I'll get it back without wholesale changes to how it all works.

And once again, because it can't be said enough - FUCK ESPN for ruining this sport I love

 

[Floribama50]

All I want is someone to ask Hunter Yurachek after he mandated the committee rewatch ND vs. Miami "did you also task the committee with rewatching Florida St. vs. Alabama", just to see what he says.

 

[Plankton]

Had respect for McElroy until I heard this. He almost started a personal attack on Driskell and I thought Driskell was pretty fair.

 

[KMac151993]

All I want is someone to ask Hunter Yurachek after he mandated the committee rewatch ND vs. Miami "did you also task the committee with rewatching Florida St. vs. Alabama", just to see what he says.

He would just say that it wasn't a comparison between FSU and Bama but there was one between Miami and ND....nevermind that a few days earlier he said it was between Bama and ND.

 

[Floribama50]

Also - Are conference title games exhibitions or a 13th data point? Exhibitions for SEC, 13th data point for everyone else it seems.

 

[Dale]

Also - Are conference title games exhibitions or a 13th data point? Exhibitions for SEC, 13th data point for everyone else it seems.

“bonus game” was the new buzz word for the SEC

 

[2013Irish]

Wilbon believes ND is racist because they fired Ty Willingham. I used to be an avid watcher of that stupid show (I can't believe it's still on the air) and he's been grinding that axe for over 20 years now. Not sure if he hated them before then, but I do remember him crashing out about that and he's never, ever let it go.

The fact that Wilbon and Kornheiser have stayed on the air for 20 years by doing the two crotchety boomers yelling at clouds schtick is remarkable.

Genuinely embarrassed I watched them growing up. Around The Horn was at least kind of fun.

 

[SighWillingham]

All I want is someone to ask Hunter Yurachek after he mandated the committee rewatch ND vs. Miami "did you also task the committee with rewatching Florida St. vs. Alabama", just to see what he says.

I've written and deleted several 20k word screeds in the past 24 hours, which was mostly an exercise in self-help, and mostly because so many of you have laid the points out really clearly.

Totally agree with you here @Floribama50, it's like the committee/cabal just refused to do even the most simple of homework. You are only looking at realistically 16-worthy teams at max, and it is your job to know all the details and data about those teams to make a decision that is supposed to net out a deathmatch of the best 12-teams. Their corruption and bias is so clear in how they came to their conclusion, but it's also just a slap in the face of all CFB fans that they didn't even go through the motions or optics to hide it. They mailed it in, and did what was best for their own interests and those of their corporate overlords. Brazen stuff.

So many of you guys have mentioned it too, but I think why I've been so rattled by this whole thing is that it seems to go far beyond our love of ND and college football, and this whole sham just lives as a testament to the larger absolutely broken nature of the society we live in today. Corruption, immorality, collusion, greed and a total lack of shame is just the norm. The same bootlickers taking the side of ESPN, the SEC etc over the past 24 hours are the same people who back billionaires. politicians and the consolidation of massive companies playing checkers with everything in our day to day lives. Enough to make a man feel like a nihilist.

ND is something that is my diversion, it's something my whole entire family rallys together around. Feels like these scumbags at the top stole the last great pastime. Maybe a bit melodramatic, but the ripple just feels pretty wide.

Rant over from me too. Love ND, love having this place as a sounding board, and can't wait to unleash the black OPS killing squad that will be the 2026 Fighting Irish next year.

 

[greyhammer90]

The fact that Wilbon and Kornheiser have stayed on the air for 20 years by doing the two crotchety boomers yelling at clouds schtick is remarkable.

Genuinely embarrassed I watched them growing up. Around The Horn was at least kind of fun.

It's insane how when I was in college that late afternoon ESPN block was considered must watch TV by everyone I knew. Now I've not watched ESPN other than games for years.

 

[rtrn2glory]

Does every conference have a championship game?

 

[ab2cmiller]

I've seen a lot of media personalities state that we just need to get rid of the weekly rankings announcements from the CFP and just have one final rankings announcement.

I disagree whole heatedly. Yes, in this particular case, I would be saved some mental anguish with just one final announcement. But the weekly exercise that we went through exposed the corruption in the system.

 

[Hautian Domer]

Yep.

Same here. I was going to pose the same question to see if anyone else was feeling the same as me

 

[GoldenToTheGrave]

Does every conference have a championship game?

The Big 12 didn't from 2010-2017 but all the P4 teams currently do.

 

[Dale]

If you watch and not just read, both today and with Dan Patrick, the MOU clearly contains more than the Top 12/13 provision

 

[IrishJacks]

“bonus game” was the new buzz word for the SEC

I love when I hear that last Saturday was Alabama's 13th data point where Notre Dame only had 12 data points. In what world should playing 3-9 FCS Eastern Illinois count as a "data point?"

Alabama and ND both played 12 FBS opponents. Alabama went 9-3 in those game and Notre Dame went 10-2.

 

[ab2cmiller]

I love when I hear that last Saturday was Alabama's 13th data point where Notre Dame only had 12 data points. In what world should playing 3-9 FCS Eastern Illinois count as a "data point?"

Alabama and ND both played 12 FBS opponents. Alabama went 9-3 in those game and Notre Dame went 10-2.

12 Data points and a "super duper fantastical extra credit" data point

 

[greyhammer90]

If you watch and not just read, both today and with Dan Patrick, the MOU clearly contains more than the Top 12/13 provision

Sorry I don't follow.

 

[Dale]

Sorry I don't follow.

He’s been asked about the MOU twice and both times he kinda says he doesn’t really wanna get into but confirms the reported detail.

That implies there is other details of the MOU not reported IMO.

 

[IrishinSyria]

I've seen a lot of media personalities state that we just need to get rid of the weekly rankings announcements from the CFP and just have one final rankings announcement.

I disagree whole heatedly. Yes, in this particular case, I would be saved some mental anguish with just one final announcement. But the weekly exercise that we went through exposed the corruption in the system.

This is what’s got me a little confused about Pete’s media tour. Listening to what he’s saying, this seems to be the clearest thing he’s asking for. He’s said over and over that his problem isn’t the teams the system picked, it’s the process through which they were picked and specifically the way it led to the team feeling rug pulled.

If that’s true, then getting rid of the rankings shows makes a lot of sense. Less transparency is just as good of an antidote to this specific problem as more transparency.

But is he seriously doing a media tour to say that? Surely we do in fact have a problem with the substantive outcome of the process along with the process itself. I sure do. And if that’s the case, what is our ask moving forward? And what is the goal of this media blitz?

 

[GATTACA!]

If you watch and not just read, both today and with Dan Patrick, the MOU clearly contains more than the Top 12/13 provision

Meaning?

 

[Irish#1]

It's all about money. Every single decision is about maximizing revenues and returns on investment into the SEC and ACC, and ADs in those conferences lining their pockets with as many playoff entrants from their respective conferences as possible. So they'll never discuss anything that looks good for us, and will hone in on anything that makes their desired end result justifiable - even if their logic is indefensible.

It's a sham of a system and it has genuinely ruined my enjoyment of CFB, and I struggle to imagine how I'll get it back without wholesale changes to how it all works.

And once again, because it can't be said enough - FUCK ESPN for ruining this sport I love

Absolutely about the money. I'll keep repeating it until you tell me to shut up, but that was a back room deal between the SEC and ACC. Without Miami, the ACC doesn't get a check to help keep them afloat.

 

[Irish#1]

I've seen a lot of media personalities state that we just need to get rid of the weekly rankings announcements from the CFP and just have one final rankings announcement.

I disagree whole heatedly. Yes, in this particular case, I would be saved some mental anguish with just one final announcement. But the weekly exercise that we went through exposed the corruption in the system.

It will be interesting to see if there is anymore transparency next year and/or an adherence to some data points.