One big name brand was never going to make the playoff between Notre Dame, Alabama, and Miami. Somebody had to get left out. Turns out it was the Irish who ran out of luck when it mattered most.
Miami moved ahead of Notre Dame on Selection Day, jumping from No. 12 to No. 10 to get the final at large bid in the College Football Playoff. Neither team even played on conference championship weekend, so this wasn’t about last minute wins or losses. It was strictly resume versus resume. And rightfully so, Miami got in. Both teams finished 10-2, but Miami owns the head to head win over the Irish, a 27–24 victory back in Week 1. You can’t ignore that. Head to head is supposed to matter, and this time the committee actually treated it like it does.
Notre Dame didn’t deserve to be in front of Miami, or Alabama, to be honest. The only reason the Irish were ever ahead of Miami in the first place is because Miami hit that rough patch in the middle of the season. They lost to Louisville 24–21 and then to SMU 26–20, which dropped the Hurricanes all the way back to No. 18 in the CFP rankings. Once you fall that far, climbing back up is usually slow no matter how good you actually are. But Miami kept winning, and finally fought their way back up to No. 12 heading into Selection Weekend.
Notre Dame, on the other hand, never fell very far. They lost their first two games of the season to highly ranked teams in Miami and Texas A&M, and then won ten straight. That looks impressive on paper, and it should. But during that entire ten game stretch, Notre Dame was favored in every single matchup. Their best win came against a low ranked USC team.
Alabama… honestly, this one is still a head scratcher. The Tide haven’t looked impressive since its 37–20 win over Tennessee on October 18. A lot of people say they peaked midseason and that feels true. This Alabama team looks like half the team that won at Georgia and dominated Vanderbilt earlier in the year. If you are going by the eye test, Notre Dame actually looks better right now. But Alabama had three things Notre Dame didn’t, SEC patch on their jersey, an impressive win, and a harder schedule.They played in the SEC Championship against Georgia on December 6 and they were dominated from start to finish. It was shocking. You beat a team earlier in the season, and then when it matters most, you get blown out. Not a good look.
But again, it was an extra game. Notre Dame was on the couch while Alabama was out there taking playing against Georgia. And the committee has made it clear that they will not punish a team that is already in the playoff for losing a conference championship game, last years example was SMU, this year was Alabama.
This Notre Dame team was still very good, not making the playoff doesn’t mean you are bad. If we are going off how good each team is Notre Dame would’ve made it, and comfortably. It’s about deserving, and out of this year’s field, Notre Dame fell just one spot short.
