The College Football Playoff field released on December 7 immediately sparked a media firestorm, as Notre Dame (10-2) was left out of the bracket and will now watch the postseason from home despite ranking in the top 10 nationally leading up to Selection Sunday.
Instead, the committee slotted Miami, Tulane, and James Madison into the 12-team bracket over the Irish, a decision that highlighted the growing tension between tradition, the new playoff structure, and the data the committee says it uses.
On “The Pat McAfee Show” Thursday, Nick Saban, the seven-time national champion turned ESPN College GameDay analyst, questioned the playoff optics and criticized one of the CFP participants.
“Look, would we allow the winner of the AAA Baseball League, the International League, whatever they call it, I don’t even know the name of it, would you let them in the World Series playoff? That’s the equivalent of what we do when JMU gets into the College Football Playoff, and Notre Dame doesn’t.”
The CFP’s 12-team format guarantees spots for the five highest-ranked conference champions and then fills the remaining seven slots with the next highest-ranked teams.
That system made space this year for Tulane (American champion, 11-2) and James Madison (Sun Belt champion, 12-1), both automatic qualifiers, while Notre Dame, ranked No. 11 in the final CFP list, was left outside the bracket.
Miami, which beat Notre Dame head-to-head in Week 1, was chosen for the final at-large position.
The Irish responded to the CFP miss by withdrawing its name from bowl consideration; AD Pete Bevacqua described the team’s reaction as stunned and deeply disappointed.
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Saban’s point underscores a central tension in college football’s playoff design: balancing automatic bids for conference champions against the sport’s traditional hierarchy and perceived competitive strength.
With high-profile voices like Saban publicly questioning the CFP’s decision to include programs such as James Madison over Notre Dame, pressure is mounting on the committee and CFP governance to clarify how conference auto-berths are balanced against perceived competitive strength.
