The Notre Dame Fighting Irish have enough heartbreak after missing the College Football Playoff, but Texas Tech head coach Joey McGuire added to it with some words.
As the Red Raiders prepare for their Capital One Orange Bowl matchup against No. 5 seed Oregon Ducks on Jan. 1 at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Fla., McGuire seemingly took a shot at the Fighting Irish over their independence.
“It’s really tough, because you hate to eliminate anybody, but I do think that when you have a criteria of where you’re going to select a team, everybody should be in that same criteria,” said McGuire, as transcribed by Sean Keeley of Awful Announcing. “So, and I don’t wanna make Notre Dame mad, but be in a conference, and you’re in the playoffs. If they’re in the ACC, they’re in the playoffs.”
McGuire is always free to express his opinion, especially on college football matters, but it’s hard to imagine Notre Dame football changing its stance on being unaffiliated with any conference, just because the Red Raiders’ head coach threw shade at the Fighting Irish.
Notre Dame controversially failed to earn a spot in the CFP, as the committee favored the Alabama Crimson Tide and the Miami Hurricanes amid intense debates over the cases of each program.
Meanwhile, the Texas Tech Red Raiders earned the No. 4 seed in the CFP, which came with a huge perk in the form of a first-round bye.
