Tim Benz: Wanna blame Notre Dame for College Football Playoff mess? Me too, but we can’t
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The easiest thing in the sports world to do is to hate Notre Dame.
The arrogance. The individualism. The hype. The specially catered ACC membership rules. The money. The independent television network deal.
So when the Fighting Irish were drubbed 34-10 by Clemson in the ACC Championship Game, that resulted in a slew of anti-Notre Dame propaganda across the internet, arguing against any claim that the Irish should be in the four-team College Football Playo…
Sorry. The College Football “Power 5 Invitational.”
The college football world can cry all it wants. But based on its current setup, Notre Dame should be one of the four teams involved in the semifinals to determine a national champion.
Yes. The Irish got clubbed by second-ranked Clemson. But it was Notre Dame’s only loss of the year. And the Fighting Irish also beat Clemson earlier in the season.
I know. I know. That game came without Tigers quarterback Trevor Lawrence under center because of coronavirus protocols. So that 47-40 victory in South Bend comes with a big ol’ facemask-shaped asterisk.
So what? Show me a team in the NCAA that hasn’t had the benefit — or the misfortune — of having to deal with covid-19 circumstances on gameday at some point this season.
Plus, Lawrence’s backup (D.J. Uiagalelei) accounted for three total touchdowns and 439 yards through the air that night. He put up similar numbers in his previous start against Boston College, as well. He’ll probably have Clemson right back in the ACC Championship Game next year.
Let’s not act like the Irish simply had to beat a college version of Devlin Hodges.
Plus, what claim do the other complaining teams have to displace Notre Dame? Texas A&M (8-1) is the fifth team in the rankings.
“I don’t care what league you’re in. If you’re going to pick the best four teams, we’re one of them,” said A&M head coach Jimbo Fisher after his team defeated Tennessee on Saturday.
Sorry, Jimbo, you only played nine games this year. Notre Dame played 11 (10-1). And the Aggies already got booted by Alabama once this season, 52-24. So why should they get the honor of losing to the Crimson Tide again?
I suppose you can argue that a championship game result — with Lawrence — should weigh more than the regular-season win for Notre Dame. That, I buy.
But A&M didn’t even get to their title game. Florida did.
Let the Irish take it on the chin from ’Bama this time around in the semifinal Rose Bowl matchup.
A New Year’s Day Rose Bowl game played in Arlington, Texas, by the way. So it looks like coronavirus inspired oddities won’t end in 2020 after all, huh?
“Very similar resumes,” said CFP selection committee chair Gary Barta during ESPN’s playoff announcement broadcast. “But the committee felt like Notre Dame had earned its way there based on the complete analysis of the resume and that probably came down to having an additional win against a ranked team.”
That was North Carolina, who will now play the Aggies in the Orange Bowl.
What other teams are people lobbying to get a semifinal spot besides the Irish?
Florida? Just because they hung around with Alabama before losing 52-46 in a wild SEC title game? C’mon. The Gators have three losses.
Others are saying Oklahoma (8-2) should go. Please! With two losses out of a mediocre Big 12? No way.
What about Cincinnati or Coastal Carolina? Neither the 9-0 Bearcats (American Athletic) nor the 11-0 Chanticleers (Sun Belt) play in a Power 5 conference. But if you want to lobby that either of those schools should be in the playoff instead of an Ohio State team that only played six games, I’ve already endorsed that idea.
As I did the notion that either team would’ve been a better choice than Clemson if Notre Dame had beaten the Tigers a second time.
After all, the Big Ten changed its rules late in the season to allow Ohio State into the conference championship game to even get to six games in the first place.
Are the Buckeyes more talented than the Chanticleers or Bearcats? Sure.
More deserving? With six wins through a covid-addled Big Ten schedule? No way.
As talented as Ohio State may be, it’s the Buckeyes that Texas A&M fans should be targeting instead of Notre Dame as a school they should replace in the “Football Final Four.”
It sure sounded that way when Fisher noted after the Tennessee game, “Seven straight SEC wins. Some schools ain’t even playing seven games.”
Yeah. You got me on that one, Coach. But that’s more an anti-Buckeyes argument than one against the Irish. Not to mention that Ohio State’s victory over Northwestern in the bastardized Big Ten title game was a less than impressive 22-10 result.
Unless we are going to argue that both Cincy and Coastal should get in at the expense of Ohio State and Notre Dame, I can’t in good conscience argue that Notre Dame should be left out.
As much as I want to.
The good news is, you’ll have a chance to see them get pummeled by Alabama in 11 days. But if it were anybody else besides them, understand they’d suffer the same fate against Alabama, too.