When I got the email from Residential Life that the finals schedule would look a little different this semester, I was initially confused. Exams on the weekends? What were they thinking? Even with the chance of hosting a College Football Playoff game, was that really worth massive scheduling changes?
These changes have larger impacts also. Winter Break gets a bit shorter. Students have to find different flights that are probably more expensive because the dorms close only a few days before Christmas. I’m an RA and I won’t make it home until Dec. 23.
With all of these questions and uncertainties floating around the end of the semester and the season, there’s really only one thing left to ask: is all of this worth it?
In my opinion, yes. The 12-team playoff changes everything and gives Notre Dame the opportunity to be a real contender. Especially because Notre Dame football has not joined up with a conference, in a four-team system, they have no one to advocate for them at the table, unless it is undeniable that they deserve to be in the playoffs.
This year, Notre Dame does not have a very impressive schedule. With Florida State losing to Georgia Tech and Boston College already, the lone Irish night game in Notre Dame Stadium looks less than impressive. With this new perspective on Notre Dame’s schedule, the only game that jumps off the page is the last one, against USC.
USC already had a big win this year after handling Brian Kelly’s LSU Tigers. As one of the new members of the Big Ten, USC will play many highly regarded programs including Michigan and Penn State. If USC continues to perform well, that will add a bit more excitement to Notre Dame’s season. If this were any other season, Notre Dame could go undefeated with a mediocre strength of schedule and no support among the playoff committee, and get a New Year’s Six Bowl but no chance at a National Championship.
But this isn’t any other year. If USC starts to struggle this season and can’t contain the Irish offense in November, that’s okay. Notre Dame can probably even lose one game and still make it into the playoffs.
However, hopefully the team doesn’t start to think along these lines. Hopefully, the team doesn’t start to count on a margin of error. Because I have sat in on a lot of Notre Dame press conferences over my time at Notre Dame — both wins and losses. There is one thing in common across all of them — Marcus Freeman or one of the players saying they are taking weeks one game at a time.
I really hope this is the year that the team is able to do that, to ignore all of the outside noise — and it’s Notre Dame, so there will be a lot of noise — and avoid a big mistake in a game that the rest of the world has declared as small or not important. This year, more than any other, is one of Notre Dame’s best chances in a while, and with many prominent players going to the draft next year, this opportunity may not come around for a while.
I don’t know how Notre Dame would do against Georgia or Ohio State, but I’d like to see it. The playoff gives Irish fans hope that they can be competitive in the postseason and persevere their identity as an independent. There’s a lot of excitement coming into this season, and talking to longtime fans, you can tell that this season means a lot. Let’s hope the Irish really do take it one game at a time.
