Notre Dame’s season ended on the worst note possible. Hours after being stunned by the playoff committee’s decision to push Miami and Alabama ahead of them, the Irish responded with a bold refusal to play in the bowl game. Marcus Freeman and his team aren’t taking the snub quietly, but this decision is sparking outrage as fans urge the NCAA to impose significant consequences.

“Proposal: if a team is offered a bowl game and declines, they should get a postseason ban the following season,” RedditCFB said on X. “Playing football is a privilege!”

Bowl games generate revenue, exposure, and practice time for the teams, and opting out of them creates a significant financial loss. But Marcus Freeman’s outrage also comes from their misery. After BYU lost the Big 12 title game, it dropped in the rankings, putting Miami and Notre Dame in clear competition.

Now, Miami’s Week 1 win against Notre Dame became the deciding factor in head-to-head competition despite both teams finishing with a 10-2 record. And that’s when the team released their official statement of opting out of the bowl game.

“As a team, we’ve decided to withdraw our name from consideration for a bowl game following the 2025 season,” the statement read. “We appreciate all the support from our families and fans, and we’re hoping to bring the 12th national title to South Bend in 2026.”

What makes matters worse is Alabama didn’t move at all in the rankings despite their 28-7 loss against Georgia. The team couldn’t even score a single point in the first three quarters, but still managed to enter the playoffs. At the same time, Marcus Freeman’s team was moved down to No. 11, even with a 10-game winning streak and winning their finale by 29 points.

So, now you know why they took such a bold step.

This time, their advantage of having an independent status became the central issue as Josh Pate highlighted it perfectly on his show.

“I think they paid a price for not being in the conference here. People kept yelling what they’ve been yelling at Notre Dame for a long time, and that is, You need to join a conference,” ESPN analyst Josh Pate said. “But if you ever want to hold out hope that they’ll become more motivated, you need to hope that they have to pay a price in the form of losing a playoff spot for not being in a conference.”

Well, they are not the only ones opting out of the bowl games. Kansas State and Iowa State both declined to play in a postseason bowl, as both teams are going through transitions under new head coaches. Iowa State lost Matt Campbell to Penn State, and the team will play under new head coach Jimmy Rogers. Even Kansas State is undergoing various changes under Chris Klieman.

The conference quickly responded to the two programs’ decision by imposing a fine on both teams. Now, both Kansas State and Iowa State have to pay $500,000 for opting out.

With the Big 12, even fans are showing their outrage at teams’ decisions.

Fans get furious over Marcus Freeman’s team decision

Fans value the bowl games and consider them an important tradition that follows the conclusion of the regular season. Even players get more time to practice in the offseason. But this time, Notre Dame chose pride over legacy.

However, fans aren’t making peace with it, as they compare their situation to Florida State’s playoff snub back in 2023. Despite missing the chance, they played a bowl against Georgia.

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“Facts. Imagine the outrage if FSU did this in 2023,” this X user said.

Well, the snub is big, but this game isn’t about winning or losing; it’s about fans’ emotions and their last hope to watch their teams play before the playoffs begin. With that, Freeman and his team lost the chance to be part of the Pop-Tart Bowl, and this fan summed up all of their thoughts in one comment.

“Absolutely. Bowl season is a blast. Don’t take it away from us CFB sickos,” a fan said.

This fan is showing his anger towards Notre Dame’s special status of being in an independent set. They negotiate their own TV deal with NBC, have scheduling freedom, and avoid conference divisions. This also became a significant reason for their exclusion from CFP rankings.

“Also, the CFP should force Notre Dame’s hand and require that for any team to be eligible for the CFP, they must be a member of a conference. Enough with the special treatment,” a fan said.

Finally, someone came to support Marcus Freeman and his team, pointing out that the transfer portal and other factors also influence teams’ decisions. Even Iowa State and Kansas State made the change due to their coaching shifts.

“What if too many players are opting out? Most teams cannot field a team because over half are in the portal,” another X user said.

Fans are arguing Notre Dame shouldn’t receive the extra 15 practices that bowl teams typically get. They believe that if the team chooses not to play in a bowl game, they shouldn’t get those perks.

“They better not be allowed their 15 practices that they would get playing in a bowl either. And that’s a big blow because those practices are huge for development,” this fan said.

Now, with their bowl decision, let’s wait and see what’s next for them.