Notre Dame isn’t just disappointed, it is livid. And Stephen A. Smith has explained clearly why the Fighting Irish feel the College Football Playoff committee, the ACC, and even their own independence all share a piece of the blame for the CFP snub.
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The frustration is rooted in something college football fans know all too well about: As Smith put it, “highway robbery is synonymous with college football.” Every year, somebody gets left out.
Last year, it was Alabama. Miami has complained before. This year, Notre Dame is the one holding the short straw. Smith said that they can’t act like the system suddenly changed. But he didn’t let the Irish off the hook either.
“Notre Dame — you had two losses. One of them was head-to-head against Miami. Albeit August 31st, it was still a head-to-head matchup that you lost to the Miami Hurricanes. Don’t you think that needs to play a role in this selection committee’s decision?” asked Stephen A.
Well, ultimately, it did. Once BYU’s drop in the final rankings forced a direct comparison between Notre Dame and Miami, the Hurricanes’ win mattered. This, despite the committee’s chairman, Hunter Yurachek, insisting weeks earlier that it wasn’t a significant factor.
Miami (10-2) jumped to the final at-large berth. Notre Dame, also 10-2 but idle and riding 10 straight wins, fell to 11th, the first team out. Within hours of being removed from the playoff picture, Notre Dame detonated a message.
“As a team, we’ve decided to withdraw our name from consideration for a bowl game… We’re hoping to bring the 12th national title to South Bend in 2026,” the team announced on X.
Notre Dame joined Iowa State and Kansas State in declining bowl invites, though the other two teams were dealing with coaching transitions. The Big 12 even fined ISU and K-State $500,000 each. Notre Dame faces no such penalty. What they face, instead, is a broken relationship with the ACC.
The Irish may be independent in football, but they are ACC members in 24 other sports, and play five ACC football opponents every year. Yet, athletic director Pete Bevacqua went on the offensive.
Bevacqua labeled the committee’s ongoing rankings a “farce and total waste of time.” And, on The Dan Patrick Show, Bevacqua said the school was “mystified” by the ACC’s willingness to advocate against them.
ACC commissioner Jim Phillips didn’t sugarcoat the league’s stance. “We have a responsibility to support and advocate for our football-playing member institutions,” he said.
Stephen A. didn’t let Notre Dame escape accountability for its own choices either. “Look at the teams that got added to the SEC. How come Notre Dame just didn’t join the elite conference? Why do they have to stand on the sidelines being an independent? Oh, by the way — they’re in a conference, the ACC, in every other sport other than football,” he said.
Smith added that the independence strategy has “worked for them in the past.” But, “this is the one time it has appeared to burn them.”
Next year, under the new postseason format, the top 12 teams get automatic playoff access. If Notre Dame finishes among the top 12 teams, they’re in. Period. No debate, no head-to-head quagmire, no conference politics. But that does nothing to fix the damage now.
