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Possible Power Conference chaos is another reminder of how good Notre Dame has it

While there are drawbacks to Notre Dame football being independent, having a very good idea of where they're going at the end of the season is a a big positive.

By Oliver Vandervoort

Michael Reaves/GettyImages
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Anyone can make plenty of arguments about why it would be best for the program if the Notre Dame football team were a conference member. Right at the top of the list is that the talk about the Irish needing a better schedule would be moot. They’d have the opportunity to get an auto-bid and a Top 4 seed at the end of the season.

On the other hand, one need only look at the chaos that could very well ensue at the end of the season in both the Big Ten and the SEC to realize that maybe the Fighting Irish are better off. 

Currently, Marcus Freeman and company mainly control their own destiny. Win out, and there isn’t an argument that they shouldn’t be included in the playoffs. Can you imagine if the Notre Dame football team had to worry about an opponent’s opponent winning by a considerable enough margin? Or, as there was talk about last year in the Mountain West, a literal coin flip.

Notre Dame football can be thankful it doesn't have to worry about conference chaos

On Wednesday, Clemson beat writer Chapel Fowler explained how things could get whacky in the ACC. 

“If Clemson, Miami and SMU all finish ACC play 8-0, they could be at the mercy of their conference opponents' combined winning % to determine who makes it to Charlotte.”

Every conference without divisions has some variation of this formula. The Big Ten has Indiana, Oregon, and Penn State all still undefeated. None of the three teams play each other in the regular season. 

The SEC is weirder because, at the moment, Texas A&M is slated for a championship game berth, though they do play Texas at the end of the season. Should they lose that game, there is a chance there will be four 1-loss teams in the conference.

All of this means that things will certainly be interesting when it comes time to set the conference championship games. But Notre Dame football fans have to be a little happy all the Irish have to do is beat four teams that are various degrees of mediocre and they’re almost certainly in.

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