With a No. 11 ranking when the final bracket was released on Sunday, Notre Dame failed to receive the final at-large bid for the College Football Playoff.
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Had the same set of circumstances happened next year, the Fighting Irish would be in. ND athletic director Pete Bevacqua revealed on Sunday that the Irish are guaranteed a spot in the CFP next season if it’s ranked in the top 12, via a memorandum of understanding signed last spring.
Not every program is thrilled about the independent Irish receiving special treatment for the CFP.
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Per Dan Wolken of Yahoo Sports, programs are threatening to “freeze” Notre Dame out of a future schedule after learning about the special agreement.
“Texas, also smarting from missing the CFP, has made noise about canceling its series with Notre Dame in 2028-29,” Wolken wrote. Athletic directors in other leagues, who learned from Yahoo Sports’ Ross Dellenger on Sunday about the memorandum of understanding that grants Notre Dame preferential playoff access, are threatening to freeze them out of future schedules.
“(Who knows if they’ll follow through. For all its issues, Notre Dame fills stadiums and drives TV ratings.)”
If Power 4 programs stopped scheduling Notre Dame, the school would be forced to join a conference, because its chances of making the CFP by playing a non-Power 4 schedule wouldn’t be high. The Irish need a solid strength of schedule.
Other programs do benefit from scheduling Notre Dame.
Bevacqua noted during his news conference on Tuesday that when ND plays at other ACC stadiums, 90 percent of those games are sold out compared to just 23 percent of the time for other conference football games.
Notre Dame is taking a high-stakes gamble by calling out the ACC and its commissioner Jim Phillips this week. It could backfire for the Irish unless they have a solid plan.
For more on the NCAA, head to Newsweek Sports.