Expansion. It’s the way of the world. In the same manner that football imitates life, life imitates football. Power struggles, complaints of unequal treatment, backdoor deals and the destruction of how it used to be. All present themes in college football, and based on recent moves, a 16-team playoff is upon us.
It remains my opinion that current seeding rules, based on conference champions, will remain as it is. To appease the demands of the Big Ten and SEC, the playoff may expand to allow more teams to participate.
Had the College Football Playoff had a 16-team format in 2025, Alabama, Ole Miss, South Carolina, Illinois, and Miami would have legitimate claims to those final spots.
However, nothing has made expansion or the idea of it more prevalent than Notre Dame’s new agreement with Clemson, creating an annual matchup between the two programs that should last until the late 2030s and potentially beyond that if extended.
The Notre Dame Fighting Irish and the Clemson Tigers have finalized an agreement that will see the two sides meet annually until 2038, as reported by ESPN.
Notre Dame is already a de facto member of the ACC in terms of scheduling, having a deal to play teams in the ACC five times a season, and the Clemson game will count towards one of those commitments. However, the deal remains valid in case Clemson leaves the ACC.
We’ve discussed Clemson’s point of view on why it agreed to maintain the agreement, regardless of conference affiliation, but why would Notre Dame would agree to the deal if it barely snuck into the CFP last season, and with Clemson holding a clear advantage over the Irish?
Clemson is 5-3 all-time over Notre Dame, but let’s dive into those losses. One of them came back in 1977. A victory in 2020 came after Clemson’s starting quarterback, Trevor Lawrence, was controversially held out due to COVID concerns (who came back to stomp Notre Dame in the ACC title game one month later), and the third win came in an upset victory over one of Dabo Swinney’s worst Clemson teams of all time.
Considering all of that and the fact that Clemson eliminated Notre Dame from CFP contention in 2023, why would Notre Dame take the risk, especially since it can only afford one loss?
Because the CFP is likely expanding to 16 teams, meaning the Irish can afford a second loss.
Notre Dame, as an independent, raked in the money from the 2025 playoff, which means its inclusion is paramount to greater financial success, greater than one game from Clemson could provide.
UCLA should get ready, as it could have four more chances to make the playoffs.
Expansion once again.
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