The Notre Dame Fighting Irish may have gotten dominated in the Cotton Bowl against Clemson, but they still earned their spot in the College Football Playoff.
It felt like 2012 all over again for Notre Dame fans watching the Cotton Bowl on Saturday evening. Despite an undefeated record and sky-high expectations, the Fighting Irish came out flat and got completely steamrolled by a more talented, more disciplined Clemson Tigers team.
Despite all of the uproar on social media about Notre Dame not being worthy of their College Football Playoff spot, the Fighting Irish absolutely earned their right play for a national title.
Notre Dame looked competitive in the first quarter, but things quickly fell apart as the Tigers started to take over on both sides of the ball. By the final whistle, the Tigers had come away with a dominant 30-3 victory.
Heading into the Playoff, the Fighting Irish had a resume worthy of a top-four bid. Not only did they win every game on their schedule to go 12-0, but they also went 9-0 against teams that went to bowl games, including the likes of Michigan, Northwestern, Syracuse and others.
Say what you will about how Brian Kelly got his team prepared for the Cotton Bowl, but this team still beat every team that was put on its schedule. Kevin McGuire from NBC Sports probably put it best.
The good news for Notre Dame fans looking toward 2019 is that all signs are pointing toward Ian Book returning. Replacing Brandon Wimbush as the starting QB just a few weeks into the season, Book showed some serious potential and should continue to develop into one of the better quarterbacks in college football next season.
On the other end, a blowout loss like this will not help the Fighting Irish in future arguments for a spot in the College Football Playoff. The Playoff committee may not have previous final-four performances in their selection criteria, but Ohio State has seen itself on the outside looking in after getting blown out in their previous appearance.
Regardless of your opinions about the Fighting Irish, or their ugly performance on Saturday, it’s hard to argue that Notre Dame didn’t belong in the Playoff after what the team was able to accomplish this season.