2025 College Football Playoffs

[greyhammer90]

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.

I think it's interesting that this MOU exists and nobody knew it was being agreed to and nobody would know about it currently if not for ND being left out on Sunday.

Makes you wonder what other types of deals and arrangements have been made that are not known publicly.

It also interests me that the terminology used is a Memorandum of Understanding. That's a very specific type of document. Those are typically signed documents but don't have enforceable language. They are essentially a statement of party intent and require some level of goodwill, but are not a contract that has enforceable provisions. I'm curious if some of these backdoor shady deals are being done through MOUs because they don't have reporting obligations in the same way a full contract would.

 

[theclassickiller]

I didn't know where else to post this information, so I'm going to stick it here. This has all been rattling around in my brain as I find it out, but there is getting to be too much to remember. If you know of pertinent information that I'm forgetting, please let me know and I'll add it. I also want to see if anyone knows if this information is incorrect. I don't know what the point of this is, other than catharsis. Anyway, here is the timeline of the CFP Committee's decision, as I both remembered it and researched it. Hopefully someone will find it informative in forming their opinion.

11/5:

• The inaugural CFP rankings are released. Alabama is #4, Notre Dame is #10, Oklahoma is #12, and Miami is #18. Miami had just lost at SMU for their second loss in three weeks.

11/9:

• Alabama hands LSU their fourth loss in five games after LSU fired Brian Kelly. Notre Dame pounds Navy 49-10 to hand them their second loss of the season. Miami beats Syracuse 38-10 (it's worth mentioning that the score was 14-3 halfway through the third quarter).

11/11:

• Alabama stays at #4, Notre Dame moves to #9 as a result of one loss ahead of them, and Miami moves to #15 as a result of three losses ahead of them.

11/13:

• Mack Rhoades steps down as CFP chair due to personal reasons. Arkansas AD Hunter Yurachek is promoted to chair, and former Arkansas AD Jeff Long is brought in to replace Mack Rhoades. The SEC now has four members of the committee who are alumni or who were/are in positions of power at SEC schools. The most important thing to note is that the chair of the CFP will now indirectly profit from the number of SEC schools in the playoff.

11/15:

• Alabama loses at home to Oklahoma 23-21. Notre Dame beats #22 Pitt on the road in front of College Gameday 37-15. It's worth noting that Pitt did not have an offensive touchdown until the last play of the game. In the most Narduzzi move imaginable, Pitt calls a timeout with 3 seconds left to set up a play against ND's third stringers and seniors. Miami wins at home against NC State 41-7. It's worth noting that NC State was without Hollywood Smothers -- widely considered a top-10 RB in the country (and one of the nation's top portal targets for 2026) -- for most of the game.

11/18:

• Alabama drops to #10, Notre Dame remains at #9 -- despite pantsing #22 Pitt at their house -- and Miami jumps to #13. Hunter Yurachek reveals that the committee is grouping teams by resumes and eye test. Notre Dame, Alabama, Oregon, and Oklahoma are all neck-and-neck. Miami, BYU, Utah, and Vanderbilt are in the next tier of teams. He is directly asked about ND-Miami and the head-to-head data point, and he states that it has no impact because ND is playing better than the three teams between them, and Miami is not playing as well as those teams.

11/22:

• Notre Dame puts on the craziest show of the season in a 70-7 route of Syracuse. Starters exit the game after the first drive of the third quarter at 56-0. Notre Dame plays backups and seniors for almost two entire quarters (on Senior Day), and again, a team scores on the last play of the game. Alabama defeats FCS opponent Eastern Illinois -- a team that finished second to last in the Big South -- 56-0. Miami struggles to put away Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, and needs a touchdown with 1:46 remaining to go up two scores. It's worth noting Virginia Tech finished third to last in the ACC (behind UNC) and had the same overall record as Syracuse.

11/25:

• Notre Dame remains at #9, despite Oklahoma's struggles with Missouri. Alabama remains at #10. Strangely, Miami jumps to #12, swapping spots with a Utah team that won their game against a team ranked over 30 spots above Virginia Tech by the computers. Yurachek is asked about the Miami jump, and gives the bizarre answer that "Miami is a team that it really appears is starting to look like the Miami team that started 5-0," despite Miami's struggles that week with one of the worst teams in their conference. However, this inexplicable jump allowed the committee to move Miami into the proverbial "bubble" with Notre Dame, Alabama, and Oklahoma. Yurachek said that Notre Dame and Miami were now close enough for head-to-head to factor in, but it still isn't enough to move Miami above Notre Dame.

11/30:

• Notre Dame cruises at Stanford 49-20, as they should. It's worth noting that Notre Dame pulled their starters in the third quarter up 42-6. Alabama struggles mightily against Auburn. The Tide need a 4th and 2 touchdown at the end of the game to go up 27-20. Alabama is outgained offensively by 131 yards (411-280). A late fumble by Auburn seals the win. Auburn would finish the season with only three wins over FBS teams. Miami pantses Pitt, but to a lesser degree than Notre Dame did. The score was 17-7 at half, and Miami needed a score with 40 seconds left to create the final margin, 38-7.

12/2:

• Inexplicably, Alabama jumps Notre Dame and lands at #9. Notre Dame is punished for absolutely obliterating yet another Power Four opponent, and moves down to #10. Miami remains at #12, but the discourse around the head-to-head matchup reaches a fever pitch now that only one team is between Notre Dame and Miami. Yurachek once again says that the head-to-head result isn't a factor but, with only one team between them, it is becoming a discussion.
• When asked why Alabama jumped Notre Dame after struggling against Auburn, he says "[They] looked really good, especially in the first half. Got up 17-0, ran the ball well. Auburn came back on them. They had a great, gutsy call on 4th-and-2 late in the fourth quarter to get a touchdown and then got the turnover late in that game. And I think that was enough to change the minds of a couple committee members to push Alabama up ahead of Notre Dame." That would be an acceptable explanation except for two problems: they didn't look good in the first half, and they didn't run the ball well. They punted on four of their seven first-half possessions, and ran for 4.2 yards per carry (exactly the same as Auburn). In fact, they would punt on 7 of 12 possessions in the game, and needed two timely fumbles from Auburn to win the game.
• During the last couple of weeks, Notre Dame had only strengthened their resume and continued to dominate power four opponents. However, teams failing to impress against lesser opponents were being rewarded for nonsensical reasons that the committee chair made up to justify their head-scratching moves. Concerns start to grow that the committee was preparing a way to push Notre Dame out, or at least put Miami ahead of them because of the head-to-head argument.

12/7:

• Notre Dame and Miami stay home and play no games. Alabama gets absolutely embarrassed on the national stage, putting up 67 total yards and failing to cross the 50-yard mark through three quarters. They would end the SEC championship game with -3 yards on the ground and having, as one SEC writer put it, their "soul sucked out of them." Surely there is no world where the CFP Committee could keep that team in the playoff discussion. At the very least, assuming they were judged the same as all of the other teams in the country, they would have to drop to the very bottom of teams being considered for a spot.

12/8:

• The final rankings are revealed, and Alabama is the #9 team in the country. This means that in the last four games Alabama had lost at home to Oklahoma, beat a bottom-feeder FCS opponent, struggled mightily with an atrocious Auburn team (who had fired their head coach and switched quarterbacks), and had their faces absolutely kicked in by Georgia, and moved UP one spot. Fans of other hopefuls watched their teams get punished for winning, and watched as Alabama was rewarded for losing. Teams that were impressing were pushed aside for an Alabama team that proved to be an unwatchable hot mess. It was inexplicable and unacceptable. There is no explanation other than corruption and favoritism, and rest assured ESPN was not going to ask Yurachek for an explanation.
• Now one spot remains for either Miami or Notre Dame. The #10 spot is revealed, and the Miami Hurricanes leap frog Notre Dame to claim the last spot. For four weeks, Notre Dame was safely ahead of Miami and the head-to-head comparison did not carry enough weight to move Miami up. All of the sudden, there was no team between Notre Dame and Miami to be the buffer, so head-to-head would carry the day.
• What happened to the buffer that had kept Miami and Notre Dame from being compared head-to-head? Logically, there was no team between Notre Dame and Miami because BYU was crushed by #4 Texas Tech in their conference championship. BYU was punished for losing that game badly, as they should have been. Another team lost their championship game in similar fashion to the #3 team, Georgia. That team was, of course, Alabama. And yet, Alabama was the only conference championship game loser to NOT be punished for losing.

 

[BleedBlueGold]

Can someone explain to me the benefit of this MOU and the automatic qualifier for Top 12 and up? 1) College football already thinks that ND gets preferential treatment. Is that not what this is? 2) If it's protection from a similar situation as this year, what is stopping the committee from just ranking them 13th?

The number of people around me who've hurled "Join a conference!" or "ND wants their cake and eat it too!" etc....It's exhausting. Someone help me combat this MOU. Because at face value, without knowing anything else, it seems like something that would be hard to defend to haters. (Yes, I shouldn't care about haters, but the reality is they exist and I'm surrounded. It makes my life easier when I can put them in their place with sound arguments.)

 

[BleedBlueGold]

I didn't know where else to post this information, so I'm going to stick it here. This has all been rattling around in my brain as I find it out, but there is getting to be too much to remember. If you know of pertinent information that I'm forgetting, please let me know and I'll add it. I also want to see if anyone knows if this information is incorrect. I don't know what the point of this is, other than catharsis. Anyway, here is the timeline of the CFP Committee's decision, as I both remembered it and researched it. Hopefully someone will find it informative in forming their opinion.

11/5:

• The inaugural CFP rankings are released. Alabama is #4, Notre Dame is #10, Oklahoma is #12, and Miami is #18. Miami had just lost at SMU for their second loss in three weeks.

11/9:

• Alabama hands LSU their fourth loss in five games after LSU fired Brian Kelly. Notre Dame pounds Navy 49-10 to hand them their second loss of the season. Miami beats Syracuse 38-10 (it's worth mentioning that the score was 14-3 halfway through the third quarter).

11/11:

• Alabama stays at #4, Notre Dame moves to #9 as a result of one loss ahead of them, and Miami moves to #15 as a result of three losses ahead of them.

11/13:

• Mack Rhoades steps down as CFP chair due to personal reasons. Arkansas AD Hunter Yurachek is promoted to chair, and former Arkansas AD Jeff Long is brought in to replace Mack Rhoades. The SEC now has four members of the committee who are alumni or who were/are in positions of power at SEC schools. The most important thing to note is that the chair of the CFP will now indirectly profit from the number of SEC schools in the playoff.

11/15:

• Alabama loses at home to Oklahoma 23-21. Notre Dame beats #22 Pitt on the road in front of College Gameday 37-15. It's worth noting that Pitt did not have an offensive touchdown until the last play of the game. In the most Narduzzi move imaginable, Pitt calls a timeout with 3 seconds left to set up a play against ND's third stringers and seniors. Miami wins at home against NC State 41-7. It's worth noting that NC State was without Hollywood Smothers -- widely considered a top-10 RB in the country (and one of the nation's top portal targets for 2026) -- for most of the game.

11/18:

• Alabama drops to #10, Notre Dame remains at #9 -- despite pantsing #22 Pitt at their house -- and Miami jumps to #13. Hunter Yurachek reveals that the committee is grouping teams by resumes and eye test. Notre Dame, Alabama, Oregon, and Oklahoma are all neck-and-neck. Miami, BYU, Utah, and Vanderbilt are in the next tier of teams. He is directly asked about ND-Miami and the head-to-head data point, and he states that it has no impact because ND is playing better than the three teams between them, and Miami is not playing as well as those teams.

11/22:

• Notre Dame puts on the craziest show of the season in a 70-7 route of Syracuse. Starters exit the game after the first drive of the third quarter at 56-0. Notre Dame plays backups and seniors for almost two entire quarters (on Senior Day), and again, a team scores on the last play of the game. Alabama defeats FCS opponent Eastern Illinois -- a team that finished second to last in the Big South -- 56-0. Miami struggles to put away Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, and needs a touchdown with 1:46 remaining to go up two scores. It's worth noting Virginia Tech finished third to last in the ACC (behind UNC) and had the same overall record as Syracuse.

11/25:

• Notre Dame remains at #9, despite Oklahoma's struggles with Missouri. Alabama remains at #10. Strangely, Miami jumps to #12, swapping spots with a Utah team that won their game against a team ranked over 30 spots above Virginia Tech by the computers. Yurachek is asked about the Miami jump, and gives the bizarre answer that "Miami is a team that it really appears is starting to look like the Miami team that started 5-0," despite Miami's struggles that week with one of the worst teams in their conference. However, this inexplicable jump allowed the committee to move Miami into the proverbial "bubble" with Notre Dame, Alabama, and Oklahoma. Yurachek said that Notre Dame and Miami were now close enough for head-to-head to factor in, but it still isn't enough to move Miami above Notre Dame.

11/30:

• Notre Dame cruises at Stanford 49-20, as they should. It's worth noting that Notre Dame pulled their starters in the third quarter up 42-6. Alabama struggles mightily against Auburn. The Tide need a 4th and 2 touchdown at the end of the game to go up 27-20. Alabama is outgained offensively by 131 yards (411-280). A late fumble by Auburn seals the win. Auburn would finish the season with only three wins over FBS teams. Miami pantses Pitt, but to a lesser degree than Notre Dame did. The score was 17-7 at half, and Miami needed a score with 40 seconds left to create the final margin, 38-7.

12/2:

• Inexplicably, Alabama jumps Notre Dame and lands at #9. Notre Dame is punished for absolutely obliterating yet another Power Four opponent, and moves down to #10. Miami remains at #12, but the discourse around the head-to-head matchup reaches a fever pitch now that only one team is between Notre Dame and Miami. Yurachek once again says that the head-to-head result isn't a factor but, with only one team between them, it is becoming a discussion.
• When asked why Alabama jumped Notre Dame after struggling against Auburn, he says "[They] looked really good, especially in the first half. Got up 17-0, ran the ball well. Auburn came back on them. They had a great, gutsy call on 4th-and-2 late in the fourth quarter to get a touchdown and then got the turnover late in that game. And I think that was enough to change the minds of a couple committee members to push Alabama up ahead of Notre Dame." That would be an acceptable explanation except for two problems: they didn't look good in the first half, and they didn't run the ball well. They punted on four of their seven first-half possessions, and ran for 4.2 yards per carry (exactly the same as Auburn). In fact, they would punt on 7 of 12 possessions in the game, and needed two timely fumbles from Auburn to win the game.
• During the last couple of weeks, Notre Dame had only strengthened their resume and continued to dominate power four opponents. However, teams failing to impress against lesser opponents were being rewarded for nonsensical reasons that the committee chair made up to justify their head-scratching moves. Concerns start to grow that the committee was preparing a way to push Notre Dame out, or at least put Miami ahead of them because of the head-to-head argument.

12/7:

• Notre Dame and Miami stay home and play no games. Alabama gets absolutely embarrassed on the national stage, putting up 67 total yards and failing to cross the 50-yard mark through three quarters. They would end the SEC championship game with -3 yards on the ground and having, as one SEC writer put it, their "soul sucked out of them." Surely there is no world where the CFP Committee could keep that team in the playoff discussion. At the very least, assuming they were judged the same as all of the other teams in the country, they would have to drop to the very bottom of teams being considered for a spot.

12/8:

• The final rankings are revealed, and Alabama is the #9 team in the country. This means that in the last four games Alabama had lost at home to Oklahoma, beat a bottom-feeder FCS opponent, struggled mightily with an atrocious Auburn team (who had fired their head coach and switched quarterbacks), and had their faces absolutely kicked in by Georgia, and moved UP one spot. Fans of other hopefuls watched their teams get punished for winning, and watched as Alabama was rewarded for losing. Teams that were impressing were pushed aside for an Alabama team that proved to be an unwatchable hot mess. It was inexplicable and unacceptable. There is no explanation other than corruption and favoritism, and rest assured ESPN was not going to ask Yurachek for an explanation.
• Now one spot remains for either Miami or Notre Dame. The #10 spot is revealed, and the Miami Hurricanes leap frog Notre Dame to claim the last spot. For four weeks, Notre Dame was safely ahead of Miami and the head-to-head comparison did not carry enough weight to move Miami up. All of the sudden, there was no team between Notre Dame and Miami to be the buffer, so head-to-head would carry the day.
• What happened to the buffer that had kept Miami and Notre Dame from being compared head-to-head? Logically, there was no team between Notre Dame and Miami because BYU was crushed by #4 Texas Tech in their conference championship. BYU was punished for losing that game badly, as they should have been. Another team lost their championship game in similar fashion to the #3 team, Georgia. That team was, of course, Alabama. And yet, Alabama was the only conference championship game loser to NOT be punished for losing.

Good write up of events.

I'll say it again. Notre Dame needs to sue ESPN. Gloves off. Go right at them. As a potential favorite to win the whole thing, sue them for the full amount of payout. Tell the world that this is not okay and will not be tolerated.

Everyone is trying to make this about H2H with Miami. It is much much more about the preferential treatment of the SEC, specifically Alabama. And the fact they flat out stole millions of dollars from ND.

 

[Bane]

I didn't know where else to post this information, so I'm going to stick it here. This has all been rattling around in my brain as I find it out, but there is getting to be too much to remember. If you know of pertinent information that I'm forgetting, please let me know and I'll add it. I also want to see if anyone knows if this information is incorrect. I don't know what the point of this is, other than catharsis. Anyway, here is the timeline of the CFP Committee's decision, as I both remembered it and researched it. Hopefully someone will find it informative in forming their opinion.

11/5:

• The inaugural CFP rankings are released. Alabama is #4, Notre Dame is #10, Oklahoma is #12, and Miami is #18. Miami had just lost at SMU for their second loss in three weeks.

11/9:

• Alabama hands LSU their fourth loss in five games after LSU fired Brian Kelly. Notre Dame pounds Navy 49-10 to hand them their second loss of the season. Miami beats Syracuse 38-10 (it's worth mentioning that the score was 14-3 halfway through the third quarter).

11/11:

• Alabama stays at #4, Notre Dame moves to #9 as a result of one loss ahead of them, and Miami moves to #15 as a result of three losses ahead of them.

11/13:

• Mack Rhoades steps down as CFP chair due to personal reasons. Arkansas AD Hunter Yurachek is promoted to chair, and former Arkansas AD Jeff Long is brought in to replace Mack Rhoades. The SEC now has four members of the committee who are alumni or who were/are in positions of power at SEC schools. The most important thing to note is that the chair of the CFP will now indirectly profit from the number of SEC schools in the playoff.

11/15:

• Alabama loses at home to Oklahoma 23-21. Notre Dame beats #22 Pitt on the road in front of College Gameday 37-15. It's worth noting that Pitt did not have an offensive touchdown until the last play of the game. In the most Narduzzi move imaginable, Pitt calls a timeout with 3 seconds left to set up a play against ND's third stringers and seniors. Miami wins at home against NC State 41-7. It's worth noting that NC State was without Hollywood Smothers -- widely considered a top-10 RB in the country (and one of the nation's top portal targets for 2026) -- for most of the game.

11/18:

• Alabama drops to #10, Notre Dame remains at #9 -- despite pantsing #22 Pitt at their house -- and Miami jumps to #13. Hunter Yurachek reveals that the committee is grouping teams by resumes and eye test. Notre Dame, Alabama, Oregon, and Oklahoma are all neck-and-neck. Miami, BYU, Utah, and Vanderbilt are in the next tier of teams. He is directly asked about ND-Miami and the head-to-head data point, and he states that it has no impact because ND is playing better than the three teams between them, and Miami is not playing as well as those teams.

11/22:

• Notre Dame puts on the craziest show of the season in a 70-7 route of Syracuse. Starters exit the game after the first drive of the third quarter at 56-0. Notre Dame plays backups and seniors for almost two entire quarters (on Senior Day), and again, a team scores on the last play of the game. Alabama defeats FCS opponent Eastern Illinois -- a team that finished second to last in the Big South -- 56-0. Miami struggles to put away Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, and needs a touchdown with 1:46 remaining to go up two scores. It's worth noting Virginia Tech finished third to last in the ACC (behind UNC) and had the same overall record as Syracuse.

11/25:

• Notre Dame remains at #9, despite Oklahoma's struggles with Missouri. Alabama remains at #10. Strangely, Miami jumps to #12, swapping spots with a Utah team that won their game against a team ranked over 30 spots above Virginia Tech by the computers. Yurachek is asked about the Miami jump, and gives the bizarre answer that "Miami is a team that it really appears is starting to look like the Miami team that started 5-0," despite Miami's struggles that week with one of the worst teams in their conference. However, this inexplicable jump allowed the committee to move Miami into the proverbial "bubble" with Notre Dame, Alabama, and Oklahoma. Yurachek said that Notre Dame and Miami were now close enough for head-to-head to factor in, but it still isn't enough to move Miami above Notre Dame.

11/30:

• Notre Dame cruises at Stanford 49-20, as they should. It's worth noting that Notre Dame pulled their starters in the third quarter up 42-6. Alabama struggles mightily against Auburn. The Tide need a 4th and 2 touchdown at the end of the game to go up 27-20. Alabama is outgained offensively by 131 yards (411-280). A late fumble by Auburn seals the win. Auburn would finish the season with only three wins over FBS teams. Miami pantses Pitt, but to a lesser degree than Notre Dame did. The score was 17-7 at half, and Miami needed a score with 40 seconds left to create the final margin, 38-7.

12/2:

• Inexplicably, Alabama jumps Notre Dame and lands at #9. Notre Dame is punished for absolutely obliterating yet another Power Four opponent, and moves down to #10. Miami remains at #12, but the discourse around the head-to-head matchup reaches a fever pitch now that only one team is between Notre Dame and Miami. Yurachek once again says that the head-to-head result isn't a factor but, with only one team between them, it is becoming a discussion.
• When asked why Alabama jumped Notre Dame after struggling against Auburn, he says "[They] looked really good, especially in the first half. Got up 17-0, ran the ball well. Auburn came back on them. They had a great, gutsy call on 4th-and-2 late in the fourth quarter to get a touchdown and then got the turnover late in that game. And I think that was enough to change the minds of a couple committee members to push Alabama up ahead of Notre Dame." That would be an acceptable explanation except for two problems: they didn't look good in the first half, and they didn't run the ball well. They punted on four of their seven first-half possessions, and ran for 4.2 yards per carry (exactly the same as Auburn). In fact, they would punt on 7 of 12 possessions in the game, and needed two timely fumbles from Auburn to win the game.
• During the last couple of weeks, Notre Dame had only strengthened their resume and continued to dominate power four opponents. However, teams failing to impress against lesser opponents were being rewarded for nonsensical reasons that the committee chair made up to justify their head-scratching moves. Concerns start to grow that the committee was preparing a way to push Notre Dame out, or at least put Miami ahead of them because of the head-to-head argument.

12/7:

• Notre Dame and Miami stay home and play no games. Alabama gets absolutely embarrassed on the national stage, putting up 67 total yards and failing to cross the 50-yard mark through three quarters. They would end the SEC championship game with -3 yards on the ground and having, as one SEC writer put it, their "soul sucked out of them." Surely there is no world where the CFP Committee could keep that team in the playoff discussion. At the very least, assuming they were judged the same as all of the other teams in the country, they would have to drop to the very bottom of teams being considered for a spot.

12/8:

• The final rankings are revealed, and Alabama is the #9 team in the country. This means that in the last four games Alabama had lost at home to Oklahoma, beat a bottom-feeder FCS opponent, struggled mightily with an atrocious Auburn team (who had fired their head coach and switched quarterbacks), and had their faces absolutely kicked in by Georgia, and moved UP one spot. Fans of other hopefuls watched their teams get punished for winning, and watched as Alabama was rewarded for losing. Teams that were impressing were pushed aside for an Alabama team that proved to be an unwatchable hot mess. It was inexplicable and unacceptable. There is no explanation other than corruption and favoritism, and rest assured ESPN was not going to ask Yurachek for an explanation.
• Now one spot remains for either Miami or Notre Dame. The #10 spot is revealed, and the Miami Hurricanes leap frog Notre Dame to claim the last spot. For four weeks, Notre Dame was safely ahead of Miami and the head-to-head comparison did not carry enough weight to move Miami up. All of the sudden, there was no team between Notre Dame and Miami to be the buffer, so head-to-head would carry the day.
• What happened to the buffer that had kept Miami and Notre Dame from being compared head-to-head? Logically, there was no team between Notre Dame and Miami because BYU was crushed by #4 Texas Tech in their conference championship. BYU was punished for losing that game badly, as they should have been. Another team lost their championship game in similar fashion to the #3 team, Georgia. That team was, of course, Alabama. And yet, Alabama was the only conference championship game loser to NOT be punished for losing.

When Miami randomly jumped over Vandy in the rankings one week, that was the first time in the back of my mind (with the benefit now of perspective) something seemed rotten in Denmark. It was around that time that a suspicious number of Miami media people began to confidently assert that "Miami and ND will end up side by side and then the H2H will carry the day." At the time, I wrote it off as cope, but now I really wonder.

 

[T-Boone]

I am going to really death ride the SEC teams, Miami, James Maddison and Tulane.
Georgia is the only SEC team with any chance and it would not surprise me if they went on to win it which would be a gut punch.
I want the worst outcomes possible for SEC and Miami and also those two spud teams.
Also, I want games that are blow outs by quarter time (like ND v Cuse level) so that ratings are atrocious.
There will be a lot of awful, negative toxins in my body the next few weeks.

 

[IrishinSyria]

I am going to really death ride the SEC teams, Miami, James Maddison and Tulane.
Georgia is the only SEC team with any chance and it would not surprise me if they went on to win it which would be a gut punch.
I want the worst outcomes possible for SEC and Miami and also those two spud teams.
There will be a lot of awful, negative toxins in my body the next few weeks.

For my sanity I’m just not going to give a fuck about what happens but I guess Texas Tech or Oregon winning it all would be the least offensive outcome.

 

[BoredIrish]

If the BIG wins the championship for the 3rd straight year, it would be very difficult for the SEC to continue to pretend like they are the top conference.

Similarly, I'm not sure why everyone thinks the Big 12 is the worst conference. Clearly, the Big 12 was better than the ACC this year.

 

[GATTACA!]

I'd probably vote Georgia. Hate OSU too much to pull for them. Not interested in Indiana winning a title before ND. Oregon is new money. Fuck the rest of the SEC. TTU/JMU/Tulane have zero chance. Fuck Miami.

 

[Bane]

I am going to really death ride the SEC teams, Miami, James Maddison and Tulane.
Georgia is the only SEC team with any chance and it would not surprise me if they went on to win it which would be a gut punch.
I want the worst outcomes possible for SEC and Miami and also those two spud teams.
Also, I want games that are blow outs by quarter time (like ND v Cuse level) so that ratings are atrocious.
There will be a lot of awful, negative toxins in my body the next few weeks.

I just don't want Miami or Alabama to win a game and I don't want UGA or IU to win the whole thing. Any other outcome is fine, I'm not super invested.

 

[T-Boone]

If the BIG wins the championship for the 3rd straight year, it would be very difficult for the SEC to continue to pretend like they are the top conference.

Similarly, I'm not sure why everyone thinks the Big 12 is the worst conference. Clearly, the Big 12 was better than the ACC this year.

Georgia is automatically into the Semi Final (if I recall they play the winner of Tulane and a team without a coach). If Georgia loses that SF people really need to hammer the SECs delusion. Maybe we pitch in and pay for a plane to fly over their big games with an "SEC is irrelevant" or some such next season.

 

[IrishinSyria]

If the BIG wins the championship for the 3rd straight year, it would be very difficult for the SEC to continue to pretend like they are the top conference.

Similarly, I'm not sure why everyone thinks the Big 12 is the worst conference. Clearly, the Big 12 was better than the ACC this year.

ACC basement dweller Florida state beat SEC world beater bama, SEC legitimately might have been the worst conference.

 

[Bane]

If the BIG wins the championship for the 3rd straight year, it would be very difficult for the SEC to continue to pretend like they are the top conference.

Similarly, I'm not sure why everyone thinks the Big 12 is the worst conference. Clearly, the Big 12 was better than the ACC this year.

The ACC at least has some big brands that could potentially stabilize and become winners again such as Miami and FSU, Clemson being a more "new money" example. The ACC also has a historically reliable middle class of teams such as VT, GT at the higher end of the middle class and UVA, UNC, NCSt, and even BC and now Cal not being dumpster fires most of the time.

The B12 is a bunch of G5 castoffs and the middling programs that were left behind in expansion. TT was the best team in either conference this year, but it remains to be seen if they will be a perennial winner or not. BYU has less than zero respect nationally (fair or not), and there's a whole bunch of bland, uninspiring opponents. I mean a 5-6 game scheduling agreement with them could spew forth Kansas, UCF, Houston, Iowa State, Baylor, and Colorado. What a shit slate.

 

[2013Irish]

Ruiz is now dressing as Freddy Krueger. For those on X, the trolling needs to be relentless when UM gets slaughtered in the first round.

 

[irishnd31]

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.

They had -3 rushing for a game….what happened to,” we love a team with a strong rb room”? I walked farther to snag a rum and coke

 

[InKellyWeTrust]

Can we get NBC to play the ND-IU, ND-Georgia, and ND-PSU games on loop for the week of 12/15?

 

[RDU Irish]

Can we get NBC to play the ND-IU, ND-Georgia, and ND-PSU games on loop for the week of 12/15?

ND vs Arkansas 2025 - too bad ESPN owns the rights and will bury that deeper than Hoffa.

 

[IRISHDODGER]

SIAP



I know he had to recuse himself whenever ND came up. Still interesting.

He grew up a Bama fan. I think he attended Stanford. He’s the closest to most objective on the entire committee from what I’ve seen. (I could be missing someone)

 

[IRISHDODGER]

I heard Hunter Yuracek was going to be on the Golics show? Has this happened yet?

 

[NDWarrior]

When Miami randomly jumped over Vandy in the rankings one week, that was the first time in the back of my mind (with the benefit now of perspective) something seemed rotten in Denmark. It was around that time that a suspicious number of Miami media people began to confidently assert that "Miami and ND will end up side by side and then the H2H will carry the day." At the time, I wrote it off as cope, but now I really wonder.

As I said one big thing that sticks out, as soon as Hunter Yurachek comes in as new head of CFP SC (as a current SEC AD, AR no less whom we slaughtered earlier in the season), the positioning for this shift comes in. Obviously, he tries to be sneaky about initially but as the committee watching the Miami/ND week 1 matchup all day on Saturday before final ranking.

(And the transgressions of previous head of the SC committee, Mack Rhoades, seem to have been well known, but suddenly, a few weeks into the SC's weekly Tuesday ratings, he's forced to resign for various violations)...

How convenient

 

[Free Manera]

Ruiz is now dressing as Freddy Krueger. For those on X, the trolling needs to be relentless when UM gets slaughtered in the first round.

I can’t believe people listen to this clown show. Like 20 years ago when I was actually working in an office and listening to espn radio all day, I would switch to music for his show. I made it through Mike and Mike and Cowherd and all those guys but couldn’t stomach this stupid ass show

 

[2013Irish]

I can’t believe people listen to this clown show. Like 20 years ago when I was actually working in an office and listening to espn radio all day, I would switch to music for his show. I made it through Mike and Mike and Cowherd and all those guys but couldn’t stomach this stupid ass show

It was good when it was at ESPN and Stugotz was on because he was a foil to Dan's race baiting and general pretentiousness. The fact that he's jumped ship to do his own thing is telling.

 

[FDNYIrish1]

The committee to Bama for going for it on 4th down against a 5 win Auburn team

 

[IrishSteelhead]

I know we are well past the betting odds bullshit, but I still can’t wrap my head around fooling Vegas this badly.

I cannot remember a time odds were so slanted and fucked for a futures bet.

This is beyond unprecedented and a clear indictment to the process being a theatrical crock of shit.

Vegas lost their ass on this, so I fully expect some blowback from that direction too.

I would legitimately not be shocked if we start hearing about “insider trading” type tickets by people that knew the process was a sham.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[NorthDakota]

You learn an awful lot about people when the topic of Notre Dame comes up. Otherwise fairly objective people start foaming at the mouth snd reacting like a vampire to a Crucifix or Garlic. It's most common with Boomers and Gen X.

When Notre Dame is struggling or average, they happily do segments where they wax poetic about how Notre Dame is a bucket list trip and used to be great and while it would be awesome if ND was back on top..it just won't happen. Then they'll probably talk about some old ND/Miami, ND/FSU, ND/USC game.

When Notre Dame *is* good. They start spazzing out. It's a tale as old as time. Join a conference! Too slow! Quit living in the past! Overrated! Entitled! Arrogant!

I'm sitting in my office thinking "brother i think you need therapy"

 

[NorthDakota]

I know we are well past the betting odds bullshit, but I still can’t wrap my head around fooling Vegas this badly.

I cannot remember a time odds were so slanted and fucked for a futures bet.

This is beyond unprecedented and a clear indictment to the process being a theatrical crock of shit.

Vegas lost their ass on this, so I fully expect some blowback from that direction too.

I would legitimately not be shocked if we start hearing about “insider trading” type tickets by people that knew the process was a sham.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Vegas absolutely is going to want answers and they will get them... or quit offering bets. And if they arent offering bets, it tells you what they think of the process.

 

[Dale]

I know we are well past the betting odds bullshit, but I still can’t wrap my head around fooling Vegas this badly.

I cannot remember a time odds were so slanted and fucked for a futures bet.

This is beyond unprecedented and a clear indictment to the process being a theatrical crock of shit.

Vegas lost their ass on this, so I fully expect some blowback from that direction too.

I would legitimately not be shocked if we start hearing about “insider trading” type tickets by people that knew the process was a sham.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

FSU woke up the morning of 2023 with insane odds to make it but about an hour before it plummeted. ND was legit insane odds minutes before. So FSU was almost the same but a clear leak got out. They probably learned from that and lied to the appropriate parties.

All for Alabama.

 

[CoachB]

To me this feels like NCAA wrestling. So Penn St. Is easily the best team, in case you didn't know. They have won like 75 straight matches.

At the beginning of the year they have the National Duals. It is all the best teams in the country battling it out...except Penn St. They don't go. This makes the nationals duals kinda feel like a JV tourney, even though everyone else good in the country is there.

This feels like that...

 

[IrishinSyria]

I think it's interesting that this MOU exists and nobody knew it was being agreed to and nobody would know about it currently if not for ND being left out on Sunday.

Makes you wonder what other types of deals and arrangements have been made that are not known publicly.

It also interests me that the terminology used is a Memorandum of Understanding. That's a very specific type of document. Those are typically signed documents but don't have enforceable language. They are essentially a statement of party intent and require some level of goodwill, but are not a contract that has enforceable provisions. I'm curious if some of these backdoor shady deals are being done through MOUs because they don't have reporting obligations in the same way a full contract would.

They can be enforceable but yeah it’s usually more of an agreement to agree and less of a final contract.

Generally you strategically leak something like this to make it harder to have anyone walk it back.

 

[Rudy89]

Can anyone DM a link to non ND related talking heads who are supporting us? Brady Quinn made a great point but he’s gonna be written off as “well it’s Notre Dame he’s biased.” Is there anyone who doesn’t have ties to ND that’s supporting us whose voice can be seen more “objectively”