MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — You’re never getting them in a conference now.
No matter what happens with this magical College Football Playoff run for Notre Dame, no matter where the improbable ride ends, this Fighting Irish team will go down as the one that saved the university’s beloved independent model.
If Notre Dame’s thrilling, last-second 27-24 victory Thursday over Penn State in the College Football Playoff semifinal at the Orange Bowl wasn’t enough, consider the cumulative reward for advancing to the national championship game: $20 million.
Notre Dame, everyone, is playing with house money with one game remaining.
It doesn’t matter who the Irish play from the Cotton Bowl semifinal – Ohio State or Texas – it has no impact on the most important takeaway from reaching the national championship game for the first time sine 2012.
In a sport swimming in change, the one rock is independent Notre Dame. No matter how much money the power conferences try to throw at them.
“These guys are just built different,” Notre Dame coach Marcus Freeman said. “This place is so special.”
After yet another unimaginable win, Notre Dame is stronger than it has ever been. Because what seemed like a pollyanna idea of earning big money with a program still finding its way in the sport’s ever-changing landscape, is now College Football Playoff reality.
It was earlier this week when Penn State coach James Franklin said “everybody should be in a conference” — a direct shot at Notre Dame and its long-standing independent status.
But while college football moved forward this season with an expansion (and contraction) that left the Power Four with three 16-team conferences and one 18-team conference, Notre Dame stood its ground.
Now we know why.
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The win over Penn State generated a $6 million payout for Notre Dame from the CFP. The breakdown of the Irish postseason haul:
— $4 million for qualifying for the CFP.
— $4 million for reaching the quarterfinals.
— $6 million for reaching the semifinals.
— $6 million for reaching the final.
So when cornerback Christian Gray intercepted an errant throw from Penn State quarterback Drew Allar at the Penn State 42 with less than a minute to play to set up the eventual game-winning 41-yard field goal from Mitch Jeter with seven seconds to play, Notre Dame had its statement game.
And its mega payout.
Consider this: Notre Dame’s television deal with NBC is estimated to be worth $50 million annually. The playoff payout moves Notre Dame’s revenue to $70 million annually, nearly identical to the high-rent financial neighborhoods of SEC and Big Ten teams.
Bowl Subdivision teams who play in conferences must share their CFP payouts with their conference, and SEC and Big Ten teams will earn an estimated $70 million each.
If Notre Dame had joined either of those conferences, it would’ve had to share its NBC contract, and CFP proceeds. Now the Irish are standing tall – and still alone – in the college football landscape.
And bonus: they’re playing for their first national title since 1988.
This unthinkable season, which seemed lost in September with a home loss to Northern Illinois, now has the feel of destiny. Somehow, some way, Notre Dame was beaten up by Penn State in the first half, and found a way to trail by only seven.
Somehow, some way, after Penn State scored two fourth quarter touchdowns to take a 24-17 lead, the Irish found a way again. Whether it was the gutty play of quarterback Riley Leonard – who was briefly knocked out of the game late in the first half and was checked for a concussion – or the dynamic ability of forgotten wideout Jaden Greathouse.
Or a defense that kept getting big stops, including Gray’s heroics to set up the game-winning drive. The ball nearly slipped out of Gray’s hands as he went to the ground, but he carefully scoped and tucked it in.
Notre Dame hasn’t won a national title since beating West Virginia in the 1989 Fiesta Bowl, since before the explosion of cable television’s impact on the sport. Before the CFP and the BCS and the Bowl Coalition and Bowl Alliance.
All the way back to the days of backroom postseason deals, when schools and conferences and bowls made decisions based on their best interests. And only after the games was a mythical national champion declared by the coaches poll and media poll.
A win against Ohio State or Texas in the national championship game would be the final step in the season of the unthinkable. But the biggest win, the biggest statement, arrived in the Orange Bowl.
Because you’re never getting Notre Dame in a conference now.
Matt Hayes is the senior national college football writer for USA TODAY Sports Network. Follow him on X at @MattHayesCFB.
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