When Notre Dame kicks off its next campaign for a College Football Playoff berth, the Irish will do so with a clearer understanding of the road ahead. The NCAA has finalized the CFP format for the 2026 season-and while some changes were on the table, the final decision keeps the field at 12 teams. However, there’s one major twist: all four Power Conference champions will now receive automatic bids, regardless of their ranking.
That tweak could have ripple effects across the playoff landscape, but for Notre Dame, the bigger story is that their unique path to the playoff remains intact. The program’s longstanding memorandum of understanding with the CFP still allows the Irish to qualify as long as they’re ranked in the Top 12. It’s a deal that’s sparked plenty of debate over the years-and it flared up again this week in a big way.
On Friday morning, ESPN’s Cam Newton and Stephen A. Smith took aim at Notre Dame’s playoff access, and let’s just say the segment got heated-fast.
Newton, the former NFL MVP, didn’t hold back.
“Bump Notre Dame,” he said bluntly, arguing that the Irish shouldn’t be allowed in the playoff field under any circumstances. “This is when you start to think about all these different things that the preferential treatment that Notre Dame has gotten will get and will continue to get.”
He went on to claim that Notre Dame “hasn’t been relevant in years,” a take that drew immediate pushback-even from his own cohost, who reminded Newton that the Irish were just in the national championship game last season. Still, Newton doubled down, insisting that aside from that one run under head coach Marcus Freeman, the program hasn’t been part of the national conversation.
Stephen A. Smith didn’t exactly cool things off. In classic fashion, he launched into a passionate monologue centered on one question: why does Notre Dame get a special lane to the playoff?
“This is sickening,” Smith said. “Bump Notre Dame. Get your ass in a conference and compete like everybody else.”
Smith’s argument hinged on the idea that Notre Dame’s independence gives it an unfair advantage-namely, the ability to avoid the wear and tear of a conference championship game. He pointed to Alabama as an example, noting that while the Crimson Tide lost their conference title matchup, they had previously gone on the road and beaten Georgia-an effort Smith argued should carry more weight than Notre Dame’s resume.
“They played a conference championship game,” he said. “What was Notre Dame doing?
They were at home sitting on their couch. Why?
Because they’re not a member of a conference.”
Smith also brought up Miami, who earned a spot in the playoff despite not playing in a conference title game either. His argument? The ACC went to bat for the Hurricanes, while Notre Dame, as an independent, didn’t have a conference lobbying on its behalf.
It’s a fair point in the sense that conference affiliation can influence perception and playoff positioning. But it also underscores the unique place Notre Dame holds in college football. The Irish have long operated outside the traditional conference model, and their national brand-along with consistent on-field performance-has kept them in the playoff picture.
Love them or hate them, Notre Dame remains a lightning rod in the sport. And with the 2026 playoff format now set, the debate over their place in it isn’t going away anytime soon.