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It’s an exciting time to be a college football fan, and one fan base that is excited for the season is Notre Dame football fans. The Fighting Irish have high hopes this season in terms of making the College Football Playoff now that it has been expanded to 12 teams.
We're almost there. Another long college football offseason is almost over as the calendar now reads August, and the first games will begin on the 24th. College football fans everywhere are eager for the new beginning. College football fever is rampant across the country as we get closer to the season, but this offseason was a bit easier than others because of the new EA Sports NCAA 25 video game that just came out in mid July.
First off, there are going to be some rules changes this year in college football, and some fans aren’t going to like them. Perhaps the biggest change is the addition of the two-minute warning, like in the NFL. If you are like most college football fans, you're getting sick of the amount of commercials that we see during games. Well, the two-minute warning is just another way for TV Networks to pack another break into the action.
There are more changes, however, and these are ones that more fans are in favor of, but some still don't like them. College football is going to look completely different next year because of expansion to the College Football Playoff to 12 teams and conference realignment. California schools playing in the Atlantic Coast Conference? Yeah, things are changing.
Conference realignment has made things look a lot different. The power five is no longer a thing as the Pac-12 is essentially dead. Every team left for a new conference except for Oregon State and Washington State. Those two teams have scheduling alliances with the Mountain West, but they aren't actually in the conference.
Every other Pac-12 school found a new home. Utah, Colorado, Arizona and Arizona State are now in the Big 12. Oregon, Oregon State, USC and UCLA joined the Big Ten. Lastly, Cal and Stanford joined the ACC (makes a ton of sense, right?).
The other big change with conferences comes in the SEC. Oklahoma and Texas are both leaving the Big 12 and they will join the SEC. The Big Ten and the SEC are loaded with good teams, and some think that things could be heading in the direction of two super conferences.
This season, we will also see 12 teams make the College Football Playoff instead of just four. For about a month, the College Football Playoff will be happening. Some people aren’t in favor of the big expansion, but there will be more marquee college football games, and it’s hard to be too upset about that.
All in all, this is going to be one of the biggest college football seasons of all time. The game is changing, and this is the start of a new era.
Notre Dame football has the national championship on their mind
One team that has had high expectations in recent years but has failed to make the College Football Playoff is Notre Dame football. This will be year three of the Marcus Freeman era in South Bend, and the Fighting Irish are looking to take the next step this season. Years one and two could've been a lot of worse, but they also could've been a lot better. After the way the 2022 season started, it felt like a win to finish the year at 9-4. A home loss to Marshall early in the year was disastrous, but the Fighting Irish bounced back.
Last season was a bit of the opposite. After the great start to the season, Notre Dame football's 10-3 finish was a bit disappointing. The Fighting Irish got out to a great start and were a play away from beating Ohio State at home early in the year. They couldn't get it done, and the loss definitely took the wind out of their sail a bit.
Now, the College Football Playoff is expanding to 12 teams, and the expectation for Notre Dame football is that they make it there. Because of the way that the playoff is lined up with conference champions, the Fighting Irish are unable to get a bye in the CFP, but at this point, their only focus is finding a way to get in, and then finding a way to win it.
Notre Dame is definitely a contender this year and they should have a good team, but there is one thing that will make winning it all even more challenging than it already is.
Lack of conference
This isn't a flaw that the Notre Dame football players have, but this is still something that is still holding the program back, and it's as evident as ever with the new College Football Playoff. The Fighting Irish need to join a conference, and here is why:
Notre Dame could go 12-0 this year and be ranked #1 in the country heading into the College Football Playoff, but there would still be four teams that get a first-round bye instead of them. The College Football Playoff committee has always loved conference champions, and now, the four conference champs from power conferences get a major advantage in the playoff with the new format.
The four highest-ranked conference champions get a bye in the first-round of the CFP, so Notre Dame could be ranked #1 in the country, but they don't have a conference championship that they could play in. The Fighting Irish would automatically fall down and get the #5 seed in the playoff despite their top ranking, and they would need to win four straight games to win it all instead of three.
Not being in a conference didn't hurt Notre Dame football with the four-team playoff format, but not being able to get a bye is something very significant. Winning four straight games is a lot more difficult than three, and it's less time for the players to rest. This is definitely something to keep an eye on when the playoff rolls around, and it will make things more difficult on the Fighting Irish.
