Throughout the year, as talks raged on about the expanded playoff format, Notre Dame’s place within that was part of a wider discussion. Now, as the playoff is reportedly going to expand to 24 teams, the Fighting Irish are again in the spotlight.
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According to ESPN, Notre Dame will reportedly get a playoff spot along with one from G-6 teams. However, that has ignited the conversation about the Fighting Irish’s strength of schedule and the ‘fairness’ of it all. ESPN’s Kirk Herbstreit has a strong take on that.
“Notre Dame plays two games where they’re going to be challenged,” Herbstreit said on ESPN’s October 16 podcast. “This one’s where they’re favored [against BYU] and Miami’s at home.”
For old school fans, that kind of ‘unfairness’ feels almost repulsive. Notre Dame’s strength of schedule ranks well in the 50s nationally, while top SEC teams like Alabama and Georgia have top-10 SoS rankings.
Notre Dame also has a relatively light stretch ahead, with Navy, Boston College, SMU and Syracuse left on the schedule alongside tougher tests against BYU and Miami.
That run of games has helped the No. 2 Fighting Irish build a strong start. They are 6-0, winning by an average of 32 points per game. In comparison, Alabama and teams like Ohio State have faced a much tougher slate. That doesn’t sit well with Kirk Herbstreit.
“Think about what Alabama and Georgia and Ohio State and these teams,” Kirk Herbstreit remarked. “What they’re dealing with? So that cannot continue. That’s an embarrassment and incredibly unfair.”
With the SEC moving to a 9-game conference schedule, every SEC team’s SoS has gotten much tougher. Kentucky and Florida, previously struggling, are now ranked and competitive.
That means teams with national championship or even playoff expectations will have to be much more cautious throughout the season. At a 9-win season, which will undoubtedly be better than Notre Dame’s 11-win season, the SEC teams won’t even have a chance for a playoff berth.
However, with the playoff bracket expanded to 24 teams, SEC teams can get some respite. The conference is reportedly getting 7 spots in the playoffs, with the Big Ten getting 6 spots. The Big 12 will get 5, while the ACC is speculated to get 4 guaranteed spots.
However, even with that, one place is reserved for Notre Dame. Of course, that will be subject to Marcus Freeman’s team finishing above a certain position in the CFP rankings (most probably above 24). Nevertheless, it will still be unfair.
According to ESPN’s Pete Thamel, the Fighting Irish will be required to schedule more Big 10 and SEC games on their schedule as the 24-team playoff framework comes to reality.
That doesn’t change the fact that one playoff spot is still reserved for the Fighting Irish. Notre Dame actually faced a much tougher slate in Marcus Freeman’s first two seasons.
In 2022, the Irish played five ranked teams, including Ohio State, Clemson, and USC, without a game against an FCS opponent. The following year brought another demanding run.
Over four straight weeks in midseason, they faced Ohio State, Duke, Louisville, and USC, all of whom entered those games undefeated and ranked. However, ever since the 12-team playoff bracket, Notre Dame has followed the Indiana approach.
Its strength of schedule slipped to around 25th to 40th nationally, even with games against major opponents such as Texas A&M and Florida State still on the calendar.
The Irish continued to land big matchups, but they had fewer tough games packed into the schedule than teams in the expanded SEC and Big Ten, where strong opponents often come week after week.
Notre Dame has 3 ranked opponents on its schedule, and that includes a No. 24- ranked SMU. In comparison, Ohio State has played and will play at least 5 matchups against ranked opponents this year.
That doesn’t even include Michigan and Oregon. Nebraska is also looking dominant this season. Including them as serious games will easily take OSU’s tough matchups tally to eight. Kirk Herbstreit might be on to something here!