Paul Finebaum is one of the country’s most polarizing college football hosts. He is undoubtedly a homer for the SEC, and will take any opportunity to belittle or devalue any other team or conference in the nation, particularly if they aren’t in the Big 10 or SEC.
However, while on the “McElroy and Cubelic in the Morning Show“, Finebaum had some honest and almost even kind words about Notre Dame, a school he has been very critical of in the past.
“I ultimately believe that Notre Dame has gotten away with this for a long time. I can’t imagine, long term, that they will, and I’m talking five, six, seven years down the road. At some point, they’re going to have to make a decision…I give them credit for being able to pull it off [being Indepedent for so long], and again, I think the ACC is really the loser of all this because Notre Dame joining the ACC like they did in everything but was really how they were able to preserve their athletic department and remain Independent in football…
I strongly believe that Notre Dame will finally say, ‘Enough is enough. We’re getting into a conference.”
Notre Dame Is Being Penalized by the College Football Playoff
In the latest college football playoff expansion, it was announced that a bye would be given to the top four teams conference champion, with the eight remaining schools having to play a first-round game.
For Notre Dame, who doesn’t play for a conference championship, it means they can never be a top-four seed and will always have to play in the first round, even if they are the only undefeated team in the country and ranked number one in the rankings.
While that may not cause a lot of headlines or drama now, what will happen when Notre Dame is undefeated and has to play a first-round game at some point? If they lose, the Irish will be irate and will probably join a conference in the press conference following the game, or they will at least try to.
Money Will Eventually Be Too Attractive
Up to this point, Notre Dame has been able to stay up financially and, in many cases, stay ahead of the rest of college football with its exclusive rights media deal with NBC and its contract with the ACC, which also supplements them. However, with new TV contracts going into effect pretty soon, the Big 10 and SEC will be making significantly more money than any kind of deal that Notre Dame can draw as a single Independent team.
There is also the question of where NIL will be in a few years with conferences and events that conferences put on. For example, the Big 12 is hosting a conference Pro Day at the end of the month, which may hurt a team like Notre Dame if every conference adopts its own. In other words, as conferences get more money and host more events, Notre Dame will left on the outside looking in.
Conclusion
Paul Finebaum mentions that Notre Dame will eventually end up in a conference, and he is probably right. It’s hard to imagine a spot in a P4 or P2 setting where Notre Dame remains on the outside and is still given the same rights and privileges that they currently have. The biggest question is when the Fighting Irish will join a conference, and which will they join? There isn’t a conference in the country that wouldn’t take them in a heartbeat.