Notre Dame’s Bold Bowl Boycott and the Fallout: AD’s Fury Meets Saban’s Calm Response
The college football world is reeling after Notre Dame Fighting Irish stunned the postseason — and its own fans — by refusing to play in any bowl game after being excluded from the College Football Playoff (CFP). The decision, announced Sunday, came directly after the team’s snub from the 12-team playoff bracket — and at the center of it all is Pete Bevacqua, the Fighting Irish’s athletic director.
A Stunning Rejection
Despite finishing the 2025 season with a 10-2 record and riding a 10-game winning streak, Notre Dame was omitted from the CFP field, placed just outside the cut as the “first team out.” (Reuters) Hours later, the university announced that its football team would not participate in any bowl game this season — declining a previously expected bid to the Pop-Tarts Bowl. “As a team, we’ve decided to withdraw our name from consideration for a bowl game following the 2025 season,” read a statement credited to the 2025 Notre Dame Football Team. (People.com)
Bevacqua, in interviews and public remarks, did not mince words. He described the snub as a gut punch — “like we were all just punched in the stomach.” (On3) He called the weekly CFP rankings “an absolute joke and a waste of time,” arguing the constant comparisons over the season had created “false hope” for athletes, only for the final decision to pull the rug from under them. (Yahoo Sports)
Who Was Really to Blame? Bevacqua Points at the Process — and the ACC
Bevacqua made clear that his issue was not necessarily with the teams that ultimately made the playoff — many of which he acknowledged as “great teams.” Rather, his ire was directed at the system: the weekly rankings process, the final selection criteria, and unusually, at the conference dynamics that he claimed influenced the outcome. (Los Angeles Times)
He also singled out the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC), with which Notre Dame maintains a scheduling agreement in football and where it competes in 24 other sports. During a Monday appearance on “The Dan Patrick Show,” he accused the conference of doing “permanent damage” to their relationship — claiming the ACC had actively promoted other teams over Notre Dame in the lead-up to the CFP selection. (Los Angeles Times)
The decision to opt out of the postseason, Bevacqua said, was driven by Notre Dame’s captains, who felt the team would be “incomplete” — with many players likely to opt out or already preparing for professional careers. “It just wouldn’t be the same,” he said. (Yahoo News Malaysia)
College Football Giants Respond: Calm Over Fury
Not everyone in college football responded with anger. Nick Saban, the legendary coach and long-time standard-bearer of the sport, took a measured tone. While expressing sympathy for Notre Dame’s players — calling the situation “devastating” — Saban argued that the current structure still allowed for difficult choices. He called for future reforms to ensure the “best 12 teams” make the playoff, pointing out what he sees as inequities in current automatic bids and playoff criteria. (Newsweek)
Saban acknowledged the frustration surrounding the snub but did not indict the playoff committee personally. Instead, he suggested that this moment might prompt a broader reconsideration of how playoff teams are selected — and how conference championships, and even Group-of-Five clubs, fit into the broader postseason landscape. (Bleacher Report)
A Polarized Reaction from Fans and Analysts
Reaction among fans and observers has been intense and mixed. Many praised Notre Dame’s decision as a principled stand — a signal that the program won’t settle for what they see as a flawed system. On popular fan subreddit forums, one user summed up the sentiment:
“I’m glad Miami got in if we’re a bunch of losers who turn down another football game just to go cry about the one we couldn’t make it to.” (Reddit)
Others blasted the move as childish — arguing that Notre Dame should have taken the bowl invite, played, and proven on the field that they weren’t just whining. A comment encapsulating this view:
“This is lame. Show you belong by winning the hell out of the bowl game.” (Reddit)
Analysts, meanwhile, warn that the refusal by such a high-profile program might erode the prestige of “consolation” bowls. With major brands stepping back from lesser postseason games, one columnist suggested the CFP’s expansion — intended to create more opportunities — might instead hasten the decline of traditional bowl culture. (Chicago Sun-Times)
What This Means for the Future of the CFP
For now, the 2025 postseason will march on — without the Fighting Irish. But Notre Dame’s dramatic exit has galvanized broader calls for structural reform. Critics argue the playoff selection criteria remain murky and heavily influenced by conference politics; supporters of change point to Notre Dame’s season as proof that the system still undervalues independent programs.
Even some insiders see this as a turning point. Starting next season, under a new memorandum signed with the CFP, Notre Dame will be guaranteed a spot if it finishes the year ranked in the top 12 — a safety net intended to prevent similar heartbreak. (New York Post)
In that sense, while this year’s boycott is historic, it may be only a prelude to deeper systemic shifts. As Saban noted, there may be a chance now to “learn something from this” — to overhaul tiebreakers, reconsider the role of conference championships, and rework how Group-of-Five and independent teams are evaluated in a post-expansion CFP world. (Newsweek)
For Notre Dame, the message is loud and clear: they won’t settle. For college football, the backlash might force a reckoning.
- People.com
- Reuters
- SB Nation
- SI
- New York Post
