The Notre Dame Fighting Irish finished 10-2 and somehow were left out of the 12-team College Football Playoff field with James Madison and Tulane getting bids.
The exclusion of the Irish has been a massive talking point. Former Alabama coach Nick Saban gave his thoughts on the matter with a baseball analogy during his weekly appearance on “The Pat McAfee Show” on Thursday.
“Would we allow the winner of the Triple-A baseball league, the International League, whatever they call it, would you let them in the World Series playoff?” Saban asked rhetorically.
“That’s the equivalent of what we do when JMU gets into the College Football Playoff and Notre Dame doesn’t,” Saban added.
James Madison is the No. 12 seed in the field and got in after defeating Troy in the Sun Belt Conference title game. Tulane is the No. 11 seed after defeating North Texas in the AAC title game.
Notre Dame was ranked No. 11 in the final rankings, but James Madison and Tulane got into the field due to the rules. Here’s what the College Football Playoff website says:
“The 12 participating teams will be the five conference champions ranked highest by the CFP selection committee, plus the next seven highest-ranked schools.”
This season, Tulane and James Madison won their conference titles and were the highest-ranked champions, meaning they grabbed the final spots. Saban thinks that schools from lesser conferences should have their own playoff, which would allow the schools that are theoretically stronger to face each other in the playoff.
After Notre Dame’s snub, it was revealed that the school signed a Memorandum of Understanding that the Irish would make the CFP if they had a No. 12 ranking beginning next season.
But, for now, they are out, and it’s sparked a giant debate in the college football world.
