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Notre Dame football: 5 reasons the Irish have earned a CFP berth

By Daniel Morrison

Dec 29, 2018; Arlington, TX, United States; View of the back of the helmet of Notre Dame Fighting Irish offensive lineman Max Siegel (64) during warm-ups for the 2018 Cotton Bowl college football playoff semifinal game between the Notre Dame Fighting Irish and the Clemson Tigers at AT&T Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 29, 2018; Arlington, TX, United States; View of the back of the helmet of Notre Dame Fighting Irish offensive lineman Max Siegel (64) during warm-ups for the 2018 Cotton Bowl college football playoff semifinal game between the Notre Dame Fighting Irish and the Clemson Tigers at AT&T Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports /
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Nov 27, 2021; Stanford, California, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish head coach Brian Kelly reacts during the second quarter against the Stanford Cardinal at Stanford Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Darren Yamashita-USA TODAY Sports /

Notre Dame football: 5 reasons the Irish have earned a CFP berth

They Shouldn’t Be Punished for Brian Kelly Leaving

The College Football Playoff Committee and Gary Barta all but said they were willing to hold Notre Dame out of the College Football Playoff if a team were to be out their head coach. Right now, that means Notre Dame could be punished because Brian Kelly left.

It would certainly seem like the Irish were being punished by being left at number 6. That happened, despite Ohio State getting its second loss. Oklahoma St jumped them and found the 5 spot, setting the Cowboys up, not the Irish, in case Alabama, Michigan, or Cincinnati loses.

However, punishing players for the greed and desires of a coach is a fundamentally flawed way of doing business. This isn’t how the Playoff should operate, and it’s not in the spirit of what the Playoff was trying to accomplish.

On top of that, Notre Dame has already named its next head coach. The Irish have Marcus Freeman in place as the next head coach. A string of assistant coaches have announced that they’re staying at Notre Dame, and aren’t interested in leaving any time soon. So, there shouldn’t be punishment for one staff change.

Besides, wasn’t Brian Kelly supposed to be the problem in big games? Well, then the problem is gone now. That should be a plus in the Playoff Committee’s eyes.

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