Notre Dame fans convinced they belonged in College Football Playoff over Cincinnati
By Scott Rogust
After the Cotton Bowl, there were some Twitter users who believed that Notre Dame would have fared better against Alabama than Cincinnati.
The Cincinnati Bearcats were the lone undefeated team in college football at the conclusion of conference championship weekend. As a result of going 13-0, the Bearcats earned the fourth seed in the College Football Playoff and a spot in the Cotton Bowl. Even though they were in it for the majority of the game, Cincinnati fell 27-6 to the Alabama Crimson Tide on New Year’s Eve.
As if the loss did not sting enough for the Bearcats fanbase, they probably logged onto their Twitter feeds, only to see some users claim that the Notre Dame Fighting Irish was more deserving of a CFP spot and they would have fared better against Alabama!
Notre Dame would have played Bama better .. the entire country knows it.
— Drue Tranquill (@DTranquill) December 31, 2021
It was the right decision to put Cincy in — they deserved it. But you know the committee is scratchin’ their heads saying, “well, we gave them a shot.” Not a good day for non-power 5 hopefuls. #CFBPlayoff
Imagine not scoring a TD against Bama in the playoff. Couldn’t be Notre Dame
— Matt Greene (@TheReal_MattyG) December 31, 2021
The fact that Notre Dame lost to Cincinnati still disgusts me.
— ||《ev_|| (@Kevinsoldtwitr) December 31, 2021
https://twitter.com/wbjay06/status/1477067543923802118
Notre Dame would’ve been a much better opponent to Alabama than Cincinnati was.
— Kevin M. (@myersk27) January 1, 2022
I still think Notre Dame should be playing Alabama not Cincinnati
— magic man 84 (@daniel_haycraft) December 31, 2021
Cotton Bowl: Was Notre Dame more deserving of CFP spot than Cincinnati?
Well, the Bearcats were undefeated throughout the regular season. Had they had one loss like Notre Dame had, there may have been a debate for the selection committee. But here’s the thing, the Fighting Irish’s lone loss of the year came at the hands of Cincinnati inside Notre Dame Stadium! The Bearcats defeated the Fighting Irish 24-13 on Oct. 2 and clinched head-to-head bragging rights.
Notre Dame never had much luck when facing Alabama. Back on Jan.7, 2013, Notre Dame was blown out 42-14 in the BCS National Championship Game. Then, in the 2020 Rose Bowl, the Fighting Irish lost 31-14.
In the 2021 Cotton Bowl Classic, the Bearcats could only muster six points and 218 total yards of offense. Quarterback Desmond Ridder completed 17-of-32 passes for 144 yards.
Cincinnati’s defense struggled to stop Alabama’s running game, specifically Brian Robinson Jr., who ran for 204 yards on 26 carries. In total, the Crimson Tide rushing attack tallied 301 yards on 41 carries.
As is the case every year, there are debates held on Twitter to discuss who would have actually defeated Alabama in the CFP Semifinals. Nothing is going to change the fact that the Crimson Tide are going to compete for the CFP National Championship for the sixth time.
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