It’s officially that time of year. It’s time for some writer to roll out the laziest, least informed argument about Notre Dame and why they shouldn’t make the College Football Playoff possible. That one writer rolled out the argument this week, of all weeks adds a bit of humor to an otherwise incredibly cringeworthy post.
USA Today’s Matt Hayes was the latest to pen an outrage-filled article about the “free pass” he claims the Fighting Irish get on their road to the College Football Playoff. His argument isn’t new. It boils down to “why don’t they have to join a conference?”
“You’re telling me the SEC and Big Ten are playing nine conference games each against the best players in college football, and a majority of those 34 teams are playing another game against a power conference school,” Hayes wrote.
“And Notre Dame is playing what? A handful of gimme putts, annual games against teams it declares rivals (Stanford, Navy), Purdue, Michigan State, and who knows or who cares after that.”
Notre Dame football plays 10 Power 4 teams as Matt Hayes questions its CFP path
The double standard is immediate. Big Ten and SEC members automatically get credit for playing 9 or 10 power-conference schools. You’ll never guess how many power conference teams Notre Dame plays. Yes. The answer is 10.
Hayes also mentions the “gimme putts” and then says “who knows or who cares” about the other opponents. Those who care games include a showdown against a Wisconsin team whose only loss this year is Notre Dame, Michigan State (with Purdue, that’s three Big Ten teams), No. 8 BYU, No. 3 Miami, No. 24 SMU, and a win over a North Carolina team that just upset a Top 25 Pitt squad.
So how does Hayes explain this double standard? Simple: he’s decided a game between two Top 10 teams doesn’t count because BYU is in the Big 12. Oh, and the Cougars lost two games (their only two losses) to the Big 12 champion and CFP team, Texas Tech.
“Not an SEC or Big Ten heavyweight, but BYU ― the school that last season played two difficult games and lost both to Texas Tech. Just in case you’ve forgotten, Texas Tech didn’t score a point on Oregon in last year’s CFP quarterfinals.”
It’s worth noting that BYU is on the schedule because USC backed out of its rivalry with Notre Dame just ahead of the 2026 season. That USC team is ranked lower than the Cougars and sports a loss to an Oregon team with no shot at making the CFP this year, led by its backup quarterback.
When the Trojans pulled the plug on one of the longest-running rivalries in college football, they replaced Notre Dame with San Jose State on the schedule. The Irish replaced USC with a Top 10 team that has so far lost 2 games in the last year and a half.
Likewise, when Georgia Tech backed out of its game against the Irish next year, Notre Dame replaced them with an arguably better team in Virginia.
Hayes makes several other incredibly weak arguments that ignore reality to one degree or another. “At the top of the above-board list: finish in the Top 12 of the CFP poll, and you’re in.”
That’s how it’s supposed to work, Matt. The only reason not every team has that baked in is that the CFP went out of its way to give a spot to a lower-level G6 team. Somehow, a Group of 6 team is more deserving of a playoff spot than a Notre Dame team that has 10 Power 4 teams on the schedule. That’s how blinded by rage-bait the USA Today columnist is.
Finally, Hayes tries the “no one watched Notre Dame vs. Stanford” as if viewership numbers for other Fighting Irish games didn’t put it in contention with power conference numbers. As if Georgia vs. Tennessee State raked in record-shattering viewership numbers.
As if Alabama’s game against Chattanooga on November 21 will draw in anyone other than friends and family of the players.
There are arguments to be made against Notre Dame making the College Football Playoff should they win a game or two. But the argument that the Irish are getting a free pass is just too lazy to ever be taken seriously.
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