When Notre Dame’s backup quarterback, Deshone Kizer, found wideout Will Fuller in the end zone for a 39-yard go-ahead touchdown with just 12 seconds left in their 34–27 win last weekend over Virginia, it kept the Fighting Irish’s hopes of a playoff run intact—while at the same time creating a possible nightmare scenario for the playoff selection committee.
It’s only September and the eighth-ranked Irish are just 2–0, but they remain the biggest obstacle to a smooth-running playoff system.
Why? Even though they have some affiliation to the ACC, they’re not a full member (they play six ACC games) and won’t figure into the conference’s championship game. But if Notre Dame rolls through its schedule and is selected as one of the four playoff teams, it would mean that at least a second league champion from a Power Five conference—ACC, SEC, Big Ten, Pac-12, and Big 12—would have to be left out.
Anyone who’s not sure if that would create some controversy need only to look at last season’s mess where only one conference—the Big 12—was on the outside looking in as conference co-champs TCU and Baylor—each with identical 11–1 records—were bypassed.
The conference wasn’t happy about the perceived slight. There were calls for an improved selection process and a bigger playoff field.
