Notre Dame's CFP argument crumbled after just two first round games

Remember when fans were up in arms about the College Football Playoff selection committee leaving out Notre Dame from the 12-team bracket? Well, they're pretty quiet now after the first two games of the playoff. The two teams Notre Dame was excluded for, Alabama and Miami, both pulled off massive first-round upsets and became the first programs in CFP history to win on the road.

The Crimson Tide came back from down 17 points in the first quarter to beat Oklahoma 34-24 while the Hurricanes silenced Texas A&M and Kyle Field with a last-minute 10-3 victory. Meanwhile, the Irish won't be participating in a bowl game after making a huge stink about their exclusion. Ultimately, it seems justice was actually carried out on the gridiron for once and not in the comment section.

Notre Dame has no case against the CFP committee after Alabama and Miami's big wins

When the 12-team bracket was revealed just two weeks ago, Notre Dame fans — and athletic department officials — flooded social media and the airwaves with data to support their argument against the committee's decision. Miami doesn't pass the eye test. Alabama has three losses, it's SEC bias. Notre Dame is playing better right now than either of those two teams.

Both teams just won against superior opponents on the road. That's all a team can do to prove it belongs.

Now, could Notre Dame in its late-season form have beaten both Oklahoma and Texas A&M? Probably given how poorly the two played against already shaky Alabama and Miami squads. But ultimately, the committee followed precedent to a tee. The Crimson Tide weren't punished for playing in a conference title game and Miami was granted entry via the head-to-head tiebreaker.

Perhaps just as importantly, Notre Dame's argument will die with hypotheticals, because they chose not to play in a postseason bowl game after falling out of the College Football Playoff field. Playing (and dominating) a bowl game would've bolstered their gripe that they deserved to be in. Now, they took their ball and went home and are left with no leg to stand on.

To add insult to injury, the Hurricanes even made sure to address the four-leaf clover in the room after their CFP victory.

"Let us never ever devalue the importance of head-to-head competition," Miami head coach Mario Cristobal told reporters in his post-game press conference on Saturday, taking a not-so-subtle jab at the Irish.

Where the committee painted itself unnecessarily into a corner was ranking Notre Dame No. 9 for so long and then suddenly dropping it two spots with little explanation or rationale. But you can't re-litigate the bracket now that the games have begun.

Both Alabama and Miami have shown they could bust brackets (many are probably already busted) and if either advances to the semifinals, Notre Dame should have to release a formal written apology for its tantrum.