Irish eyes were not smiling down on Notre Dame on Sunday as the 10-2 Fighting Irish were snubbed by the College Football Playoff committee.
The news was not well received, especially after many weeks in which the committee ranked Notre Dame ahead of Miami, only to suddenly flip-flop them in the final ranking, even though neither team had played a game since the last one.
Notre Dame athletic director Pete Bevacqua went on the offensive, saying that the previous rankings gave them a “false” hope that they were playoff-bound and that they felt like “the playoff was stolen from our student-athletes.”
Soon after that, Notre Dame announced it would withdraw from bowl game consideration, ending its season.
Despite earning widespread sympathy for the snub, Notre Dame then faced a round of criticism over that decision, including from several ESPN employees.
On ESPN’s Bowl Breakdown show, host Matt Barrie played devil’s advocate to the rest of the panel, saying that this is a mess of Notre Dame’s own making.
My guy @MattBarrie spitting pure facts right now pic.twitter.com/V6YmGaNfeh
— InAllKindsOfWeather.com (@AllKindsWeather) December 7, 2025
“You are the University of Notre Dame. You are a brand in college football. You are one of the founding fathers of what makes this sport great,” he said. “You should not have the right to do this as a team. If you want to figure it out and you don’t want to opt out of the bowl game, as the University of Notre Dame, I can fix this whole thing with you with one phone call. ‘Hi, can we join your conference?’ You cannot be an independent, control your own schedule, and then pout when you don’t get in because you don’t have the conference championship at your weight.”
ESPN college football analyst Booger McFarland took to X to share a similar sentiment, admonishing Notre Dame for taking its ball and going home because it didn’t get its way.
If you are notre dame Why not just say we lost to Miami , we think we are a better team but we lost the battle on the field ? Instead you pout and take your ball and go home Really teaching the kids a great lesson in South Bend
— Booger (@ESPNBooger) December 7, 2025
McFarland also reacted to Notre Dame’s bowl decision as a “weak move” and said it sets a new precedent for others to follow.
I understand Notre Dame being upset about the playoff but to throw a pity party and not play in a bowl game is quite a new precedent for a 10-2 football team
— Booger (@ESPNBooger) December 7, 2025
Fox Sports’ Brady Quinn, who played for Notre Dame, wasn’t keen on criticisms like these from the Worldwide Leader, whom he felt was part of the reason the team found itself in this situation to begin with.
So folks at @espn are upset ND isn’t playing in a bowl game after weeks of folks politicking against the lack of conference affiliation, using them as a pawn for their CFB playoff selection show, having the ACC network play the UM/ND game on repeat for 48 hours during Conf Champ…
— Brady Quinn (@Brady_Quinn) December 7, 2025
“So folks at [ESPN] are upset ND isn’t playing in a bowl game after weeks of folks politicking against the lack of conference affiliation, using them as a pawn for their CFB playoff selection show, having the ACC network play the UM/ND game on repeat for 48 hours during Conf Champ week BUT now it’s a bad look they don’t want to serve ESPN’s best interest by playing in an exhibition bowl game?” he asked on X. “Got it.”
Quinn’s take is that when it comes to Notre Dame, ESPN wants its cake and to eat it too.
For what it’s worth, per On3’s Brett McMurphy, Notre Dame was slated to play in the Pop-Tarts Bowl, but declined. That game is broadcast on Disney’s ABC. It was also reported that Notre Dame’s opponent would have been BYU, setting up a kind of “First Two Out” game with its own storylines. You can see how easy it is for people to “connect the dots.”
That’s not to say there’s a direct line between ESPN criticism and a desire to force them to play in games their company has the rights to, but the implication is often easy to make, often due to “own goals” by ESPN’s own analysts.
To be fair, it’s not as though ESPN folks were the only ones bashing the school over the decision.
The waters that exist between ESPN’s on-air talent, their commentary, and the company’s media rights ownership will always be muddy. The situation probably isn’t as one-to-one as Quinn wants it, but it will always be easy to draw that connection, especially at times like these.
About Sean Keeley
Along with writing for Awful Announcing and The Comeback, Sean is the Managing Editor for Comeback Media. Previously, he created the Syracuse blog Troy Nunes Is An Absolute Magician and wrote 'How To Grow An Orange: The Right Way to Brainwash Your Child Into Rooting for Syracuse.' He has also written non-Syracuse-related things for SB Nation, Curbed, and other outlets. He currently lives in Seattle where he is complaining about bagels. Send tips/comments/complaints to sean@thecomeback.com.