Cam Newton really has a problem with Notre Dame football.
Coming off a heavily criticized segment last week on First Take in which Newton argued the Fighting Irish are not nationally relevant in college football, he doubled down on the take Wednesday on his podcast, 4th and 1.
In the segment, Newton addressed the pushback he received over Notre Dame’s recent appearance in the national championship game, spelling out his belief that competing for a championship does not equate to relevance.
“Just because you went to the national championship doesn’t automatically qualify you to be relevant,” he explained. “Being relevant to me is year-in and year-out, you’re a top team that has beat quality opponents. To me, Indiana’s not even relevant. They just won a national championship.”
Newton also claimed his perspective on the Fighting Irish should be taken as him speaking “truth to power.”
The former Auburn star continued to tout the SEC as the top stage in college football, both for the level of competition in the conference and its TV viewership. In Newton’s mind, Notre Dame receives preferential treatment based on an outdated status the school is given by college football leadership despite facing subpar opposition in the ACC.
“When you look at teams who does numbers, Notre Dame ain’t in the top ten with their ratings,” Newton said.
“They’re on TV, they have an NBC deal. But if NBC does their numbers and says, ‘Hey, how does Notre Dame fare compared to SEC teams, to Big 12 teams, to ACC teams?’ They’re not in the top percentile. That’s what I mean by relevant. So don’t come for me saying, ‘Cam’s just talking about the side of his neck.’ No I’m not. Someone has to really tell truth to power … it has everything to do with the program.”
Newton expressed concern that under the new College Football Playoff rules, the Fighting Irish could scrape their way into the top 12 even with a three-loss season, earning an automatic bid to the CFP despite an inherently weaker resume. Of course, the SEC’s supremacy is up for debate under the new world order of transfers and NIL money. And Miami just represented the ACC in the title game.
As Newton continued his argument, he eventually relented on using the word “relevant” after all:
“Don’t get so hinged on the ‘relevant’ word. I just want to see Notre Dame compete against quality teams on a consistent basis.”
As we saw most notably in Newton’s disagreement with Patriots quarterback Drake Maye earlier in the season, Newton often appears resistant to backing down. The former Heisman winner’s views on Notre Dame are indeed widely held among sports commentators, but by reaching for the most extreme argument about the school’s relevancy and then ultimately backing down from that framing, Newton makes it hard for all but his most ardent supporters to follow his point of view.
About Brendon Kleen
Brendon is a Media Commentary staff writer at Awful Announcing. He has also covered basketball and sports business at Front Office Sports, SB Nation, Uproxx and more.