But the question remains: Had the Irish hung on to win but Oklahoma still made the Playoff instead on style points, would that have prompted a serious evaluation on Swarbrick’s part about whether full conference affiliation is needed?

“No, not at all,” he replied. “It’s not any 11-1 finish. Had we played differently against Wake Forest and Boston College and finished 11-1, it might raise a different question. But we had lost the edge we carried into those games relative to the Selection Committee’s view of us. In some ways that hurt us more than the Stanford outcome.”



Because the Irish finished No. 8 in the Selection Committee's poll at the end of the regular season, they could have gotten in with the eight-team Playoff in 2015. However, Swarbrick sees no groundswell of support in the collegiate ranks to expand to eight teams — and he would oppose it even if there was.

“There is zero momentum in that regard, and I am not in favor of it,” Swarbrick replied about an eight-team format. “I think the four works, and in many ways it has exceeded our expectations. I think it has preserved interest in the other bowls, which we were worried about. It’s made for a compelling, compact playoff.

“And when you talk about this, as we do, the Committee talks to the schools that have been through the process. The prospect of playing a third game in the playoff window — we’ve yet to find a coach who thought that was a good idea after they played two. It’s just tough.”

The four-team Playoff is ideal to Swarbrick for two other main reasons.

One, it doesn’t dilute the importance and every-week-is-a-playoff excitement of the regular season. No sport, college or pro, has a more gripping regular season than FBS football, and the leaders want to keep it that way.

Second, the bowl tradition is maintained and remains significant to many teams throughout college football.


What if Notre Dame is blessed to have a few 11-1 regular seasons now through 2025, and still gets left out of the four-team Playoff?

Swarbrick is not swayed by this hypothetical. One of the foremost mandates through his first eight years on the job has been to preserve Notre Dame’s football independence however possible and as long as possible.

“We have accepted from day one that there will be years where our independence will work against us in getting into the College Football Playoff,” he said. “I don’t know what year that will occur, but we’re very comfortable with that trade-off, that the benefits of independence are worth the inevitability that there will be a year where our independence hurts us. We’re fine with that trade-off.”

Here’s the deal: Notre Dame has lost a minimum of three games in 21 of its last 22 football seasons (2012 the exception). Thus, it would be nice to first become a good enough program to where 11-1 becomes a potential “problem.”




https://notredame.n.rivals.com/news/notr...n-as-goals

Boo!

Thank goodness Swarbrick and the decision-makers at Notre Dame still feel this way. I strongly believe that college football is more enjoyable when it features a competitive and independent Notre Dame. I would even prefer them to do away with their arrangement with the ACC and fill out their schedule more nationally.

I was pretty confident that an 8 playoff wasn't something that was gaining momentum from those that matter and I'm glad it is still that way.

Swarbrick would oppose expansion to an 8 team playoff...but Swarbrick is one person.

And with those comments, ND recruiting will begin the long descent down.

This Independence at all costs will eventually ruin ND. Hindering the playoffs and no major bowl tie guarantee.

How do the other 120 or so programs who will never sniff the playoffs recruit football players?

How about 4 teams w/ return of the Harris Poll + Computers?

Remove the committee bias IMO.

(07-10-2016 10:43 PM)Rabbit_in_Red Wrote:  Swarbrick would oppose expansion to an 8 team playoff...but Swarbrick is one person.

Yeah, and is he the one who actually gets to vote on that?

I look at Swarbrick and Jurich as two of the most outward-facing athletic heads in all of collegiate athletics, and while I think they do a tremendous job, and work probably much harder than most across D1, it's not these guys who gets to make the big decisions.

They should, considering the scale of the work they perform, but, ah...higher ed. Up and above these things go.

it's dumb as hell to say theres 120 teams that don't sniff the playoffs. Considering in 2 years we've already had 6 teams make the playoffs means 122 teams haven't already...

lets see Notre Dame miss the playoffs 2-3 times with just 1 loss and see him say the same stuff. its one thing to say the hypothetical and say you'd be ok with it. lets see it happen in reality.

Who the heck is this ND?
Those guys stopped being relevant in the college football world years ago!

(07-10-2016 11:44 PM)TerryD Wrote:  How do the other 120 or so programs who will never sniff the playoffs recruit football players?

So you're aspiring to recruit on the level of schools like Ohio and ULL?

(07-11-2016 07:32 AM)Rabbit_in_Red Wrote:  

(07-10-2016 11:44 PM)TerryD Wrote:  How do the other 120 or so programs who will never sniff the playoffs recruit football players?

So you're aspiring to recruit on the level of schools like Ohio and ULL?

Yeah, I always thought they strived to be among the best & not just one of the rest. Guess I was wrong.

(07-10-2016 10:43 PM)Rabbit_in_Red Wrote:  Swarbrick would oppose expansion to an 8 team playoff...but Swarbrick is one person.

Not really. ND has the voting equivalent of one conference. So he is more than just one person. Plus ND is one entity that would seem to be counted on to favor a playoff, since as the rules are written they are somewhat at a disadvantage, with little chance to play more than 12 games, and no chance to be a conference champion. so if they are not in, that really puts a hamper on anyone hoping for expansion.

(07-11-2016 08:06 AM)Lenvillecards Wrote:  

(07-11-2016 07:32 AM)Rabbit_in_Red Wrote:  

(07-10-2016 11:44 PM)TerryD Wrote:  How do the other 120 or so programs who will never sniff the playoffs recruit football players?

So you're aspiring to recruit on the level of schools like Ohio and ULL?

Yeah, I always thought they strived to be among the best & not just one of the rest. Guess I was wrong.

Notre Dame's stance hasn't changed significantly in the six decades that I have been following college football (and I am sure long before that). You weren't wrong. You were spot on, and Swarbrick's comments don't change that.

For many years, Notre Dame did not even participate in bowl games. They have never been in a conference. But they have always striven for excellence in everything they do, including football. What they have always insisted on is that athletics support the broader goals of the university, and they have always succeeded.

Notre Dame is not, and will never be, "just one of the rest" for whom athletic success is more important than institutional integrity.

What we have now is pretty good for the playoff bracket. Four teams is the correct number, and I'm glad there is no momentum for any kind of expansion.

The perfect CFP system would be:
- four guaranteed slots in the bracket for four conferences (this does NOT mean that the winner of those CCG's would automatically get the slot!!!!!)
- each conference would decide which team would get the berth, by whatever means each conference decided to use
- all three CFP games were are bid out to NFL stadiums
- all the major bowls would then revert to being filled by conference ties (Rose always Big Ten vs PAC, Sugar always SEC vs Big 12, etc.)
- THUS, no more selection committee

(07-10-2016 09:10 PM)TerryD Wrote:  Here’s the deal: Notre Dame has lost a minimum of three games in 21 of its last 22 football seasons (2012 the exception). Thus, it would be nice to first become a good enough program to where 11-1 becomes a potential “problem.”

https://notredame.n.rivals.com/news/notr...n-as-goals

Ouch. That's a slap of cold water on Notre Dame's face. Nobody has achieved less with more in the last three decades...

(PSU. on the other hand, even with a washed up octogenarian coach and the most repulsive scandal in college sports history, has had 3 seasons with less than 3 losses in the last 11...and 6 in the last 23....)

I think it's silly to say that an 8 team playoff would lower the meaning of the regular season games, especially when you have 4 playoff spots and 5 P5 conferences, and they don't play each other enough to even know how the conferences, much less the teams, stack up.

I would have thought ND would want the playoffs to be expanded to 8 to increase their chances of getting into them. Of course they went a long time without accepting bowl invitations. Maybe they don't like change.

(07-11-2016 10:55 AM)Big Frog II Wrote:  I would have thought ND would want the playoffs to be expanded to 8 to increase their chances of getting into them. Of course they went a long time without accepting bowl invitations. Maybe they don't like change.

Exactly how I would have seen it. That said, ND is different and can be hard to predict. lol...they remind of the French vote in NATO.