This could be an entry for the account “Dudes Posting Their Ls.” One of the more ludicrous and hilarious actions seen from the NCAA college football season was how the Notre Dame Fighting Irish reacted as an organization after being left out of the playoff brackets. When the final polls came out, the school found itself essentially ranked equally with the University of Miami, a team they lost to in their season opener.
With the tied rankings and many of the teams statistically on par with each other, the playoff committee certainly gave weight to that particular game and gave the nod to the Hurricanes for the final playoff bid. Notre Dame as a program, as well as its fan base, reacted with a collective bout of intemperate whining, rooted in the school’s sense of entitlement.
It’s NCAA Conference Finals Weekend, and the Playoff Bracket Has Been Set
Following the exclusion, the decision was quickly announced that Notre Dame would decline an invitation to a postseason bowl game. It was an amazingly petulant reaction, the literal manifestation of “I’m taking my ball and going home!” The conceit was that ESPN colluded with the NCAA to keep the Irish out, and thus they would “punish” the network by not giving them the benefit of profiting from the presence of the Fighting Irish.
As it turned out, no one really missed their snit fit. When the school decided to forego the bowl bid, it meant they passed on appearing in a game against closely-ranked BYU. That school instead squared off against Georgia Tech in the Pop-Tarts Bowl, and that game promptly went on to be the highest-rated bowl game outside of the playoff bracket.
The spin to come out of the Irish program was that this was a decision made by the players. This does not carry much weight, as the explanation was that some on the roster pledged not to play, and the rest of the teammates decided it would be a sign of solidarity for them to all sit out. This does not pass the smell test, considering all schools but those in the playoffs experience a large clutch of players sitting out for either entering the transfer portal or submitting their name for the NFL draft.
Now comes sheer embarrassment for the school. A documentary series focused on the Notre Dame football program is available on the Peacock streaming platform (NBC Sports holds the broadcast rights to Notre Dame home games), and its latest episode has been released. In the trailer, we see that the decision to decline the bowl appearance is addressed. Head coach Marcus Freemen addresses the camera, his interview interspersed with a meeting he held with the team leaders regarding this move.
It is a head-shaking experience.
“Choose hard” is a motto we live by.
— Here Come The Irish (@ND_HCTI) January 12, 2026
Here’s what it looked like when the captains had to live it and why they made the best decision for the group. Episode 6 of #HereComeTheIrish now streaming on @peacock pic.twitter.com/QHjz6QwQkr
They highlight the decision in a meeting with team captains, and the absence of leadership from the coach is stark. He tells them, “As long as y’all felt convicted and made it for the right reasons – that’s why I agreed with you, because it was the reasons!” And what were those reasons? We don’t have that explanation given in this teaser. But Freeman talks repeatedly of how he is proud of the captains on the team, and closes by saying, “I’m most proud of the choice they made to struggle every day. Their choices to put the work in, to stay in the moment, to struggle, created an amazing journey.”
Except this decision defies all of that. They did not choose to struggle through the reality that they were not chosen for the playoffs. They did not choose to work through this setback. They folded up the tents and walked away. This ridiculousness is highlighted by the fact that this series is titled “Here Come The Irish”, and this episode is all about “There they go, stomping off in a whiny retreat.”
Another example of this team operating in a fashion that is in opposition to its claimed excellence is seen in a prior episode. After starting the season with two losses, we see Freeman addressing the whole team, lecturing them about resilience and personal responsibility, in order to turn the season around. It boasts that the coach will go down swinging with the team, yet in the end, instead, they meekly decided to simply quit, and Coach Freeman is there applauding the cowardice.
“That’s what family does.”
— Here Come The Irish (@ND_HCTI) December 30, 2025
We’ve got a head coach who will go down swinging with us.
For more behind-the-scenes moments with Marcus Freeman, watch #HereComeTheIrish on @peacock https://t.co/jjjhCAUm7v pic.twitter.com/A0gOjgpQEn
In a way, this episode is perfectly emblematic of this organization. Here they are, trying to sell the concept that the decision to quit was the proper and noble decision, all while the reality contradicts this at all angles. They thought they’d be missed, but the passed-over bowl game became one of the most-watched of the season. The team they tried to say was wrongfully chosen - Miami - not only defeated the other school that defeated Notre Dame this year, (Texas A&M) in the opening playoff round, but the Hurricanes are appearing in the championship game on Monday evening. Now, other schools are considering dropping the Irish from future schedules after the way they behaved in this fashion.
Notre Dame has long considered itself an elite program in the NCAA football ranks, and they behave in an elitist fashion. They insist on being independent and not joining a conference, they enjoy an exclusive broadcast contract, and even stand as the only school with their own representative on the playoff committee. All others rely on a conference representative.
Despite all of this favoritism, the school still demanded more, and when it was denied, the team stormed off in infantile fashion. That they now present this decision on this show as somehow being a righteous and brave move is more evidence of how they operate.
That would be: far apart from reality.
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