Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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BLUEGOLDONLINE.COM JANUARY 2026 17 would suffer several opt-outs from players preparing for the NFL Draft. "It's reality, Dan," Bevacqua told Dan Patrick on Peacock's Dan Patrick Show. "You know that certain players wouldn't participate in that game. You think about somebody with the future that he has, like a Jeremiyah Love, a Jadarian Price, Eli Raridon, Aamil Wag- ner — who's one of the most impressive people I've met in my life. Who hope- fully, after he's done playing football, I hope he runs for president one day. It just wouldn't be the same." Bevacqua made it clear, in a moment of levity, that he has nothing against Pop-Tarts. His favorite flavor is brown sugar. But Notre Dame felt that the rug had been pulled out from underneath it when the 12-team playoff field was an- nounced, and after that happened, its 2025 season could not continue. "I get why people think it's sour grapes, but it's disappointment, Dan," Bevacqua said. "We take this seriously, as do other universities. And the rank- ings can't just be musical chairs at some fifth-grade birthday party. They have to mean something, and to me, what hap- pened to us really kind of was alarming." With the season over, Notre Dame will turn its attention to 2026. Red- shirt sophomore quarterback Kenny Minchey's intention to enter the trans- fer portal has already been reported, though he cannot officially enter until the portal opens Jan. 2. When it does, the Irish will be aggressive in filling holes on what should be a national title- caliber roster in Freeman's fifth year. There will come a time, probably very soon, when Notre Dame will channel its anger toward a successful 2026 cam- paign. For now, though, there is only heartbreak in South Bend. ✦ What They're Saying "The latest overreaction is to kill off this two-year-old playoff for a bigger model that will supposedly be controversy-free (impossible) — one with 24 teams, at least, or with four automatic bids to certain conferences or who knows what else. The committee is the punching bag. Subjectivity is the wedge issue. Conspiracies are everywhere. Emotions are running hot. "Look, there is one sure way for major programs to get into this thing: win your conference. If not, then you get into the knife fight that is the at-large selection process. Anything can happen. Criteria can shift. Decisions can seem unfair or arbitrary. "If, like Notre Dame, you find more overall value in independence, then this is your trade-off. It isn't going to work as you wish every time." — ESPN's Dan Wetzel "The work is finally done for the worst selection committee in the College Football Playoff's dozen-year history, and there are only two ways to explain the grotesque, odious bracket that it belched out Sunday. By jump- ing Miami over Notre Dame for the last playoff spot when nei- ther team played on conference championship weekend, either the committee didn't know what it was doing all along or it looked at its bad options Saturday night and chose the one with the most potential upside to the members. "Make no mistake, excluding Notre Dame was a message from the CFP, launched in the direction of South Bend, Indiana, and tinged with politics that have festered within the ranks of administrators across the country: Don't want to join a conference? Fine, but if it's a close call for a playoff spot, you get what you get. And this year, the Irish get nothing. Too bad. "Was it fair? Maybe not. Was it premeditated? No chance. It would be hard to believe anyone went into that committee determined to screw over Notre Dame." — Yahoo Sports' Dan Wolken "Had No. 11 Notre Dame not folded up shop for the season, it probably would have faced No. 12 BYU in the Pop-Tarts Bowl, an ACC-affiliated game in Orlando that became a social media phenomenon the past two years with its irreverent marketing stunts. Nearly 7 million people watched last year's Iowa State-Miami edition, a modern model by which the bowl business could build attention for its games. "But 105 shocked Notre Dame players who woke up Sunday thinking they'd be competing for a national championship probably weren't dreaming of eating an edible mascot in front of a half-empty stadium. Many of the Irish's NFL-bound upperclassmen, like star running back Jeremiyah Love, probably would not have played. "Florida State's snubbed 13-0 team in 2023 inadvertently became a cau- tionary tale for this exact scenario, losing 63-3 in the Orange Bowl when it had to face Georgia with its J.V. team. And in today's day and age, it's hard to get players excited about $500 worth of bowl gifts when many of them are making much more in NIL deals. "Unlike most of his peers, Notre Dame athletic director Pete Bevacqua, a former NBC executive, hasn't spent decades getting wined and dined by bowl execs at junkets like the Fiesta Frolic. He might not particularly care that his school just set a precedent for future disappointed Playoff contenders that, if their numbers grow, could lead to a number of decades-old bowls eventu- ally closing up shop." — The Athletic's Stewart Mandel "Notre Dame has taken its ball and gone home, and everyone is worse off for it. The 10-2 Fight- ing Irish on Sunday announced they would not accept a bowl bid, hours after being the first team left out of the College Football Playoff field, replaced by Miami despite nei- ther playing last weekend. "They're understandably angry — I had Miami and Notre Dame both in the field in my rankings, for what it's worth — but punting on finishing out the season because you got snubbed is short-sighted and embarrassing, and it removed any sympathy fans may have had for the Irish missing the Play- off field." — The Athletic's Chris Vannini "Perhaps if the bowl were televised by Notre Dame network partner NBC, the Irish would be more inclined to participate. But why should the Fighting Irish help line the pockets of Mickey Mouse after the aforementioned rodent just milked them for six weeks of ratings and then tossed them aside? "Notre Dame, ahead of Miami in the previous five iterations of the College Football Playoff selection committee's rankings, got jumped by the Hur- ricanes in Sunday's final ranking despite neither team playing the previous day. The previous rankings don't mean anything; they're simply a TV show." — On3's Andy Staples