Now that Championship Saturday is over, it's time for Notre Dame football fans to turn their attention to the College Football Playoff in earnest. As the sun came up on Sunday morning, things looked pretty good for the Irish, but there's still plenty of reason to worry. However, if history is any judge, Alabama should be far more worried.
The Crimson Tide needing to worry might surprise some. There's a narrative in college sports that teams who make conference title games don't get punished if they lose. However, that narrative isn't really true.
The narrative is especially not true if the loser of the Conference Title game is run off the field the way Alabama was. The 28-7 loss by the Crimson Tide could spell excellent news for Notre Dame if history repeats itself.
Historic CFP trends suggest Alabama could tumble after its SEC title blowout and reward Notre Dame
Since 2014 (not including the 2020 COVID season), 25 Power 5 conference teams have lost their Conference Title games by more than two touchdowns. Those 25 teams dropped by an average of 2.7 spots in the CFP rankings after the loss. Only 8 of those teams didn't drop two spots.
Obviously, the big difference here is that teams were dropping out of 4-team playoff fields. It might have been easier to say "this team is not one of the best four" than it is to say "this team is not one of the best 12."
There's also going to be plenty of bellyaching if Alabama drops 2 spots and Notre Dame and Miami both slide into the field. Still, the idea that teams are safe and secure if they make the conference title game isn't true and it might not be true for the Crimson Tide. Fighting Irish fans should hope it's not.