On Thursday afternoon, the Notre Dame football program received an absolutely massive gift from the College Football Playoff management committee. This particular gift means that while the Irish are unlikely to host a playoff game in 2025, they could get something even better: a first-round bye.
If there was one thing that most people complained about when it came to the way the seeds shook out in last year’s college football playoffs, it was that teams that were mediocre at best got a first-round bye because they won their conference championship game. That won’t necessarily be the case this winter.
Notre Dame football might have just gamed the system again
The CFP Management Committee officially confirmed what many people expected to happen this week. They changed the seeding format to a “straight seed” layout. That means that Notre Dame football, which could not get a first-round bye last year because it didn’t win a conference, would get one this year if it is one of the top four teams in the final rankings.
Now, if Notre Dame goes 12-0 and is the No. 1 team in the country, it would earn the overall No. 1 seed and a first-round bye to the quarterfinals. With new AD Pete Bevacqua as one of the people who pushed through this new format, it marks the second straight year where the Fighting Irish seem to emerge as the victors in all of this.
Last year, The Irish, led by former athletics director Jack Swarbrick, helped design the previous system. They were fine with not being able to earn a first-round bye because they liked the idea of hosting a first-round game (and hosted the first ever College Football Playoff Game) which teams who earn a bye cannot do, and they knew that Notre Dame would enjoy a bye week during conference championship week either way.
Having had the fun of hosting a game last year, it’s all about the best seeding this time around. And once again, the Notre Dame football coaching staff and admins have to be smiling ear-to-ear as this situation gives them all the benefits of being a conference champion, without needing to be in a conference.