Notre Dame football season is over and the Fighting Irish have declined a bowl invitation.
Despite finishing the regular season with a 10-2 record and 10-game winning streak, the Fighting Irish failed to make the College Football Playoff. In the first two weeks of the tournament, they lost to the University of Miami and Texas A&M, both teams that earned CFP bids this season.
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Notre Dame was ranked No. 10 in the final CFP rankings before the bracket was revealed, but on Sunday, Dec. 7, the Miami Heat moved up to No. 12, which the committee said was due to the Hurricanes’ head-to-head win.
Alabama, Miami and Notre Dame are the leading contenders for the CFP’s final two at-large bids this season, and the CFP committee was created to stir up controversy.
That’s why Notre Dame declined a bowl invitation and ended its season.
Why isn’t Notre Dame in a bowl game?
Notre Dame’s decision to skip a bowl game began with an omission from the CFP, as the Fighting Irish were left off the 12-team field in rather controversial fashion.
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Notre Dame is the first team to exit the playoffs and will likely have the best bowl in non-CFP play, likely playing in either the Pop-Tarts Bowl or the Cheez-It Citrus Bowl. However, as the CFP expanded to 12 teams, these bowl games became increasingly irrelevant to many teams. Regardless, before the CFP was expanded, players who were set to join the NFL or the transfer portal were opting out of non-New Year’s Six bowl games.
“Bowl games that have nothing to do with the CFB playoffs are destined to become the Pro Bowl (extinct),” former Notre Dame quarterback and Fox analyst Brady Quinn wrote. “Why are we acting like these young men should sign up for an exhibition game that puts them at risk and benefits everyone but them?”
Participating in the bowl game also provides the team with 15 additional practice opportunities, which are primarily used by young players to get more reps before next season. High school freshmen who enroll early sometimes also attend early, giving them a head start at the college level.
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While Kansas State and Iowa State did so due to head coaching changes, multiple other programs also opted out of bowl games this season. At least seven teams with 5-7 records also opted out of bowl games, although those programs did not meet the six-win threshold. Teams 5-7 are eligible due to other teams opting out.
Notre Dame made it clear that college football’s most elite program — at least as far as it’s concerned — is either going to be a CFP or go bankrupt in the new 12-team CFP era.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Why is Notre Dame skipping a bowl game? Season ended due to CFP absence
