The Notre Dame Fighting Irish have captured the attention of college football after opting out of the Pop-Tarts Bowl after being snubbed for a spot in the College Football Playoff by the Committee. The Fighting Irish were jumped by the No. 10 Miami Hurricanes on Selection Sunday despite having an identical record (10-2).
The College Football Playoff chairman, Hunter Yurachek, revealed that the committee considered the Hurricanes’ 27-24 win over the Fighting Irish as the deciding factor in elevating the ACC team over the independent Irish.
Notre Dame A.D. Piles on ACC for CFP Snub
On Monday, during an appearance on the ‘Dan Patrick Show,’ Fighting Irish athletic director Pete Bevacqua indicated that the ACC had done permanent damage to its relationship with the program for seemingly supporting Miami’s bid to be included in the 12-team field over Notre Dame.
During a news conference on Tuesday, Bevacqua further criticized the ACC, even claiming that the conference had mounted a social media campaign against them.
“It has created damage. I’m not going to shy away from that,” Bevacqua said. “People who are a lot more important than I at the university feel the same way. I think people at the ACC know that (it has done damage).
“I don’t understand why you’d go on a social media campaign to attack an important partner. What we were really surprised by and disappointed by was how the ACC conference really went on a social media campaign (that) in my opinion (was) attacking our football program.”
The ACC and the Fighting Irish have a partnership that mandates the program to play against five conference opponents per season. Apart from football and hockey, which are affiliated with Big Ten members, all of Notre Dame’s sports compete in the ACC, further complicating the relationship between the two entities.
The ACC Fires Back at Fighting Irish A.D.
After Bevacqua’s controversial comments about the ACC’s role in Notre Dame’s exclusion from the playoff, commissioner Jim Phillips released a fiery statement on Monday, standing up for the conference in the war of words against the independent team.
“The University of Notre Dame is an incredibly valued member of the ACC, and there is tremendous respect and appreciation for the entire institution,” the statement read.
“With that said, when it comes to football, we have a responsibility to support and advocate for all 17 of our football-playing member institutions, and I stand behind our conference efforts to do just that, leading up to the College Football Playoff Committee selections on Sunday.
The Fighting Irish have long distinguished themselves in college football due to their independent status, and their exclusion from the College Football Playoff has reignited debate about whether that unique feature has cost them a place among the elites.
