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Notre Dame Football: Tournament of Bragging Rights, 2019

By J.P. Scott

9 Sep 2000: Arnaz Battle #3 of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish tosses the ball before getting tackled by Randy Stella #34 of the Nebraska Cornhuskers during the game at the Notre Dame Stadium in South Bend, Indiana. The Cornhuskers defeated the Fighting Irish 27-24Mandatory Credit: Jonathan Daniel /Allsport
9 Sep 2000: Arnaz Battle #3 of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish tosses the ball before getting tackled by Randy Stella #34 of the Nebraska Cornhuskers during the game at the Notre Dame Stadium in South Bend, Indiana. The Cornhuskers defeated the Fighting Irish 27-24Mandatory Credit: Jonathan Daniel /Allsport /
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Just another fun way to settle (or escalate) arguments for Notre Dame football fans.

Whether it be in a bar or on social media, chances are as a Notre Dame football fan, you’ve encountered fans of other teams who want to talk sh…trash. Well, last year, I came up with another potential reference point to figure out which fans have college football bragging rights over others.

I called it “The Tournament of Bragging Rights.”

Last year, Alabama took down Notre Dame in the finals, meaning only Tide fans have the privilege — according to my metric — of talking smack to Notre Dame fans and being taken seriously.

In 2019, we’re changing the metrics. Why? Because it’s my thing and I can do what I want with it.

Here’s how it works:

You seed the top 16 teams in terms of all-time wins (FBS), 1-16.

You decide each matchup by the records against each other historically. If there is a tie, the winner is decided by scoreboard, meaning the team that one the last matchup has the advantage.

If the teams have never met, the tiebreakers are national titles, conference titles, and division titles — in that order.

With that, let’s look at the 2019 bracket for the Tournament of Bragging Rights.

No. 1 Michigan vs. No. 16 Virginia Tech

No. 8 Penn State vs. No. 9 Southern Cal

No. 5 Notre Dame* vs. No. 12 LSU

No. 4 Alabama vs. No. 13 Auburn

No. 3 Texas vs. No. 14 West Virginia

No. 6 Nebraska vs. No. 11 Georgia

No. 7 Oklahoma vs. No. 10 Tennessee

No. 2 Ohio State vs. No. 15 Clemson

(Notre Dame and Nebraska are tied with 897 wins, but the Irish get the nod due to overall winning percentage.)

Round 1 Results

Michigan over Va. Tech, 1-0

USC over Penn State, 6-4

Notre Dame over LSU, 7-5

Alabama over Auburn, 46-36

West Virginia over Texas, 5-3

Nebraska over Georgia, 2-1

Oklahoma over Tennessee, 3-1

Clemson over Ohio State, 3-0

Round 2 Results

USC over Michigan, 6-4

Notre Dame over Alabama, 5-2

Nebraska over West Virginia, 1-0

Clemson over Oklahoma, 3-2

Semifinals

Notre Dame over USC, 46-36

Nebraska over Clemson, 1-1 (via SCOREBOARD)

2019 Tournament of Bragging Rights Championship

Nebraska over Notre Dame, 8-7.

Well, there you go. Back-to-back runner-up finishes for the Irish. According to this year’s metrics, only the Huskers can talk smack heading into 2019. Which is interesting, considering they are tied in wins historically.

Next. What Book's Captaincy means for Notre Dame. dark

This is not science. It’s simply a time-killer and a point of reference in for a future argument. And it’s August. I just wish the season would get here already.

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