Apr 12, 2025; Notre Dame, IN, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish head coach Marcus Freeman waits to run onto the field during the Blue-Gold game at Notre Dame Stadium. Michael Caterina-Imagn Images

College Football Playoff Shifts: Notre Dame's Independence Surges

Originally posted on Notre Dame Fighting Irish on SI
By Nick Shepkowski | Last updated May 22, 2025 4:19 PM ET

Notre Dame is still 101 days away from kicking off its 2025 football season at Miami on August 31, but on Thursday it received one of its biggest victories of the year.

The long-awaited College Football Playoff modification was finally announced and a major change to it has the potential to benefit the Fighting Irish greatly. The top-four seeds and the first round byes that come with them were only eligible to conference champions in 2024. That is no longer the case in 2025 as the four highest ranked teams regardless of conference championship status will now receive the bids.

“After evaluating the first year of the 12-team Playoff, the CFP Management Committee felt it was in the best interest of the game to make this adjustment,” said Rich Clark, executive director of the College Football Playoff. “This change will continue to allow guaranteed access to the Playoff by rewarding teams for winning their conference championship, but it will also allow us to construct a postseason bracket that recognizes the best performance on the field during the entire regular season.”

When the College Football Playoff expansion was originally announced, Notre Dame was not eligible to earn a first-round bye week because of being independent. This now eliminates that concern for Marcus Freeman and the Fighting Irish as the only thing better than a first-round home playoff game would be getting to bypass the round entirely.

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Major props to former Notre Dame athletic director Jack Swarbrick for signing off on the guidelines to the originally expanded College Football Playoff. Swarbrick took a lot of heat because Notre Dame was never going to be able to earn a first-round bye in the previous setup. I have a hard time believing Swarbrick didn't have major doubts that the previous rules weren't going to last long and that the top four seeds would ultimately get the byes.

News early in the week pointed more to the likely end of the USC rivlary for Notre Dame. The history will be missed if the move becomes official, but Notre Dame has already announced a longterm deal to play Clemson annually so the schedule won't be taking a hit. That and Notre Dame has matcups already scheduled with Alabama, Florida, Michigan, Texas, and other powerhouses in the not-so-distant future.

Much to the chagrin of conference loyalists, one could argue Notre Dame's status as a football independent has never been stronger, even as the likely end to the USC series nears.

This article first appeared on Notre Dame Fighting Irish on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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