Ever since the University of Notre Dame’s football team was excluded from the college football championship playoffs, sportswriters have claimed that the program owes participation in one of the remaining bowl games.
For example, Chris Vannini published an op-ed characterizing this decision as “taking its ball and going home,” labeling it “short-sighted and embarrassing” while warning that the team would dilute any sympathy they might otherwise earn from being left out of the playoffs.
Vannini’s assertion that Notre Dame should have practiced for additional weeks to avoid “wallowing” in their “hurt feelings” is misplaced. He insists the purpose of football is competition, but his reasoning lacks validity.
First, Vannini compares Notre Dame competing in the Pop-Tarts Bowl to Indiana playing against Ohio State in the Big Ten Championship game—a comparison so absurd it requires no response.
Second, while it may be prudent for Notre Dame to risk injury to draft-eligible players in pursuit of the National Championship, it does not justify risking injuries solely to claim titles such as the Pop-Tarts Bowl, Ty-D-Bowl, or Come Smoke a Bowl.
Third, the recent exclusion of Notre Dame from playoff contention has eroded the credibility of the College Football Playoff committee. Last-minute maneuvers that resulted in Notre Dame being left out despite having been ranked ahead of Miami for weeks prior to Selection Sunday have damaged the integrity of rankings and selection processes.
Notre Dame Athletic Director Pete Bevacqua is correct: if weekly rankings carry weight, then Notre Dame should have been ranked ahead of Miami from September 1 onward because they defeated Miami on August 31. This inconsistency suggests committee decisions were driven by bias rather than merit.
The message here is clear: “Bend the knee to those who make the decisions, and perhaps — maybe — we’ll let you compete.” To claim Notre Dame has a moral obligation to play in a nonplayoff bowl game is blinkered and naive. Cheating Notre Dame out of National Championship opportunities through manipulated rankings is shameful, and covering it up with transparent justifications makes it worse.
