The final College Football Playoff rankings were announced on Sunday, and to no one's surprise, they were not without controversy. The biggest snub was the fact that we are going to see a College Football Playoff without the Notre Dame football program. The Fighting Irish made another statement after the snub by declining a bowl invitation, causing further controversy.
Former Notre Dame football alumnus Brady Quinn took to X to warn that all bowl games not affiliated with the College Football Playoff are at risk of extinction. His reasoning was that bowl games are exhibition games if they are not affiliated with the playoffs, and asking players to compete in them while risking injury does not make much sense.
Quinn said, “Bowl games not affiliated with the CFB playoff are destined to become the Pro Bowl (extinct). 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? We don’t do that in the NFL, FCS, DII, or DIII, but we draw the line with D1 FBS. If teams want to play, play if they don’t, why judge? Unless you have your own selfish motives…”
This has been an argument that has popped up since the College Football Playoff was introduced, because it's taking meaning and focus away from other games and putting most of the attention on the tournament.
There is definitely an argument for this, but it is also the fact that Brady Quinn is a former Notre Dame quarterback, and he is defending the decision his alma mater made to withdraw its name from bowl consideration after the Fighting Irish were snubbed from the College Football Playoff.
Notre Dame was the first team out of the playoffs and would've likely had the best available bowl that wasn't a CFP game, likely the Pop-Tarts Bowl or the Cheez-It Citrus Bowl. However, in this new era, the Fighting Irish clearly sent a message: if a top team does not make the playoffs, they don't want to play.
If a team does go to a bowl game, the bonus is 15 extra practices, which have increasingly been used to give more reps to younger players, such as freshmen. The other big reason bowl games remain relevant is that seniors want one more opportunity to play with their teammates.
