Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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IN THE TRENCHES ANDREW OWENS A cross the country, programs are reacting to the new College Foot- ball Playoff and the effects of the changes the new system brings to the sport. The 13-member committee that will decide the four-team playoff and the matchups in the other four New Year's bowls — a group that includes former Fighting Irish head coach Tyrone Will- ingham (2002-04) and former United States secretary of state Condoleezza Rice, who received a master's degree from Notre Dame — will use a num- ber of factors in its process. According to Arkansas athletics di- rector and selection committee chair- man Jeff Long, those factors include record, strength of schedule, confer- ence championships, head-to-head results and record versus common op- ponents. With strength of schedule weighing heavily into the subjective formula, teams that had previously suffered bellyaches because of the number of cupcakes they devoured are now scheduling tougher competition in the future. The ACC — with which Notre Dame begins an annual five-game schedul- ing commitment this season — and SEC now require members to schedule at least one "Power Five" (ACC, Big Ten, Big 12, Pac-12 and SEC) team in its non-conference slate. Since the start of the 2009 season, every conference except the Big 12 and SEC has had at least 50 percent of its schools play a "Power Five" team each year. The most embarrassing culprit: Texas Tech, which has not played a "Power Five" school during that time while loading up on the Stephen F. Austins, Texas States and Weber States of the world. As a reaction to the College Foot- ball Playoff, however, Texas Tech has already scheduled Arkansas and Ari- zona State for future seasons, begin- At The Start Of The Playoff Era, The Irish Are Ahead Of The Curve Athletics director Jack Swarbrick has consistently assembled difficult schedules for Notre Dame, which could benefit the program in the College Football Playoff era. PHOTO BY BILL PANZICA