For too long, the University of Notre Dame has played by a higher set of standards than the rest of college football. Programs like Alabama and Auburn will claim any random national title that they can fabricate. While Notre Dame technically holds 21 national championships, if we are including co-titles (like every other school in America), when the College Football Playoff Committee finally ruled that “head to head” is the most important criteria, the Fighting Irish must include their 1993 national title.
1993 Notre Dame Season
The Notre Dame Fighting Irish were #2 and beat #1 Florida State in South Bend 31–24. The following week, the Irish were upset 41–39 against #17 Boston College. On January 1, Lou Holtz led the Fighting Irish to a 24–21 victory over Texas A&M in the Cotton Bowl. However, Florida State claims the 1993 national championship.
For too long, I have watched elite programs fabricate their national titles, when the University of Notre Dame is the rightful 1993 National Champions, at the very minimum.
2025 Playoff Disgrace
Does anyone else find it ironic that the head of the College Football Playoff Committee, Hunter Yurachek, is also the athletic director at Arkansas? I am sure he was not salty by Notre Dame’s 56–13 beatdown of his Razorbacks in their backyard at all.
After being ahead of the Miami Hurricanes for several weeks and, most importantly, a week ago, the College Football Playoff Committee decided to put the Hurricanes ahead of the Irish, with nothing changing for either program.
Keep in mind, both teams did not play in a conference championship. In fact, Miami did not even play against Duke, who won the ACC, which could have helped their case. But Notre Dame’s schedule was bolstered by Boise State winning the Mountain West (another data point for the Irish).
Alabama Jumps Notre Dame
Two weeks ago, Notre Dame was ranked ahead of the Crimson Tide. Since then, what has happened? The Fighting Irish beat (4–8) Stanford 49–20. Alabama barely beat (5–7) Auburn 27–20, then proceeded to lose 28–7 in the SEC title game to Georgia with –3 rushing yards.
Kirk Herbstreit said that teams should not get penalized for playing in conference championships, but also said BYU deserved to move down, which contradicts that very statement. I used to think Herbstreit was the impartial voice of college football, but after he was pleading with fans on social media to contact YouTube TV to persuade them to pay more to Disney for ESPN, he lost all credibility. He is just a pawn in the ESPN propaganda war for the SEC.
Conference championship games make no sense. If teams win the conference title game it helps their résumé, but if they lose then it will not affect them. Unless you are in the Big 12, apparently.
“Head to Head” Ruling Seals 1993 National Title
I cannot stand in sports when people bring up different “argument criteria” for different situations. For example, someone might argue that Notre Dame’s national titles do not matter because they were so long ago, then that same person might boast about his New York Yankees having 27 rings, when they have only won a single ring in the last 20 years. People only make arguments that benefit their teams and are constantly changing the data points that matter.
With that being said, if the playoff committee is saying that Miami’s losses to SMU and Louisville do not matter, then 1993 Notre Dame’s loss to Boston College does not matter. If the Fighting Irish knocked off 1993 Florida State “head to head,” then make the Irish the 1993 College Football National Champions.
Final Thoughts
Typically, I am not one for conspiracy theories, complaining about refs, or unethical stances. But when Vegas oddsmakers, ESPN Playoff Predictor, ESPN FPI, AP Poll, and Coaches Poll all have Notre Dame in the playoffs — and the playoff committee moves them out at the last minute with no convincing reason — “corruption” is the only word that comes to mind.
Notre Dame could add another 10 national title banners to the tunnel, but for now they must at least add the 1993 National Championship banner. It will not “right the wrongs” of this season, but it is essentially confirming the “head-to-head” results of the 1993 season.
I’m with it, make the tee shirts and sweatshirts. I’ll be the first to buy one
Excellent article by Michael Owen’s. Ironically I have been touting this 1993 National Championship double standard to family in friends since the Miami- ND head to head rally cries began by Miami fans and ND haters.
I agree, too in The Alabama strong bias / “corruption” by the committee
One word, Alabama.
The could leave the ebb tide out 2 years in a row no matter how crappy they are. I’m a Buckeyes fan and you deserved to be in again.
Alabama is a disgrace of a choice, 3 losses 2 by blowout!! And a 14 pt loss to FLA ST a team that was 5-7 & ranked below stanford in the ACC! As long as ESPN runs the playoffs & the SEC channel teams will get screwed like ND got. THE coaches poll had ND 9, the AP VOTERS had ND 9 ! The 2 college football power ratings had ND 3 !! That tells you of the bias for the SEC, AND the CHEATING & MANIPULATION by espn!! 5 teams from the SEC & still bitching about vandy & texass (lost every big game till A&M) so sec expecting 7 of the 12 teams should be in playoffs WHAT A JOKE!! BETTER PICK THEM ALL NEXT YEAR ESPN!!
ND was left out b/c of politics. A way to punish them for not joining a conference for FB….primarily the SEC or B10. Of course they deserved to be there over Bama…only an idiot would think otherwise. And turning down a bowl was easy. Once they created a 12 team playoff, it was the demise of the bowl system. Bowls are dead… meaningless. This entire incident is just another example of the greed and terrible leadership that is rampant in college FB and college sports. I’m not a ND fan but I support them in this wrongdoing. Let’s all not watch one snap of the playoff. If you want to buy steak dirt cheap, everyone needs not to buy it for 6 months and the price will plummet.
Note dame may of beat FSU, but as you stated we were #1 and they were #2, so at the very least we flip-flop rankings… But again… As you stated, ND #1 lost to #17 Boston College, how far should they fallen in the rankings then? Final records: FSU(12-1) ND(11-1).
Then the rest of the season FSU won decisively and reestablished themselves as the top team in the nation and acquired the “Coach’s poll votes” and earned their spot in the National Championship bowl game, which they won(obviously). So according to the system that the NCAA used at that point in time(following their rules)… Better record, didn’t lose to #17, got the coach’s poll vote and won the National Championship game.
End result… The legitimate “1993 NCAA College Football National Champions” The Florida State Seminoles, no fabrication, no pulling a trophy out of thin air. It was the system at the time, just like the CFP is the system now.
Not all systems are perfect, but you have to work within the parameters and roll with the punches(such is life). So in rebuttal… Note Dame is NOT the 1993 National Football Champions, Florida State University is, end of story. But nice try.
Lost head to head. Therefore, ND was the better team, and should have been ranked ahead of them. So, unless you’re saying FSU should have been #3, ND should have been #1. Head to head win, identical records. It’s really not that hard to comprehend.
You know lil jamie you guys got your ASS KICKED BY ND IN 93!! Your tough defense gave up 298 yrds rushing & got pushed all over the field!! Then in the orange bowl nebraska rushed for over 200 yrds on you panzees, and missed a FG in the final seconds or you woulda lost AGAIN!! They wanted to give bowden (the failure) a title & thats the bottom line jame jame
Claimed National Championships at anybody the schools you me tioned were awarded by some entity. Back in the day there many such entities. Then it boiled down to AP writers and the UPI coaches polls which differed at times and were identical at others. You can’t just claim one because you want to. In this new world of college football independent is probably not the way to be.
This said everything I and many fans have said and everything everyone is thinking and want to confess. Amazingly brought back some historical memories that supports with facts. GO ND!!
Communist ESPN and southern dominated SEC hate The Fighting Irish of Catholic Notre Dame and our head coach who converted to Catholic faith. It won’t be stated openly but it’s a sad reality in this country now. They had no problem hurting BYU either because of their beliefs. GO IRISH 2026!!!
This what they to do to stop all this mess. Have two pLayoff like the NCAA basketball. The NCAA National Championship for the top 12 teams in the AP and Coaches polls. With the other bowl games turn them onto NIT Championship for the next 12 teams in the AP and Coaches polls. This will save the human mistakes like we seen. Also save the small bowl games. Just saying!!!!
Jay guys will opt out, the nit like basketball will not happen!!
J LOVES not suiting up & risking an injury for a lousy nit bowl game!!
That idea got SHOT DOWN when it was first suggested.
College football is quickly going down, the farther out thay streatch the play offs the worse it will get , gone are the days of having to play a tough schedule to even be consider for a National Championship, and now it seems the season no longer matters, and then you have the big money getting involved, this ole man will start spending more time in the deer woods on my Fall Saturday afternoons.
Great story. Hang that banner!!!!!
EVERY team but Alabama moved down after losing their conference title game. North Texas, Virginia, Ohio State, BYU. Two were blown out, Alabama and BYU. Ohio State switched places with Indiana – that one makes sense. Miami should have been in over Notre Dame (head-to-head). Alabama should have been no higher than 11th if the logic used on other moves was in play. Strangest move of all? Alabama mysteriously switching places with Notre Dame in the second-to-last poll. That signaled the fix was in, especially when only Alabama, among championship losers, kept its position after their SEC championship collapse.
I sat through the Cotton Bowl 1993, and yes I was proud of the Irish, but if you go back and look at the Orange Bowl between Florida St. and Nebraska, Nebraska won the game. Florida St. was given that game. Look at the fourth quarter midway and you see a call that gave Florida St. their first Natty.
Corrupt back in 1993, corrupt in 2025.
Nothing will ever change!
I have seen a number of FSU games like that, most vividly the game the refs stole from ND at the end in Tallahassee . . . home of FSU, where integrity goes to diie.
100% for the 1993 National Championship.
Notre Dame can absolutely claim 1993. Alabama claims 1973! They lost to ND head to head, and ND was undefeated! Alabama claiming that title is a disgrace. We might as well claim 2012, because the game against AL apparently didn’t count.
First of all you have to feel for the players. They had 10 playoff games knowing that if they lose they are out. For a committe comprised with the Miami AD and the Chairman being The Arkansas AD to take them out with no logical reason is heartbreaking. They have to be emotionally exhausted and physically exhausted.
I am tired of hearing ND should join a conference. They are no longer conferences, they are scheduling groups. Georgia beat 7 out of 18 teams and they are conference champs. What a joke. ND should not be part of that farce. They schedule so 6 or 7 teams have no more than 2 conference losses. The super conferences have ruined college football. Big Ten (17) does the same thing.
Two more comments, why did the committee chairman ask the committee to watch the Alabama FSU game?
And if you really want to get pissed off look at the results of all the Arkansas games. ND beat them by 43 and they lost to most of their SEC opponents by one score. AMAZING!
On the topic of hypocrisy by the power conferences, why is it that we always have conference refs rather than neutrals from outside the conference? The playoffs don’t allow conference refs because they all know the potential conflict of interest. We got hosed on several calls in both the first two games, including a non-call on an OL tackling our blitzing lineman from behind that allowed a go ahead score. ND should be 12-0 and #1. The 2 losses were not blowouts like BYU or AL suffered. They each turned if one play goes the other way.
Notre Dame should insist on neutral conference refs moving forward. We got hosed week in and out on mystery facemasks or roughing passer penalties that replay shows never happened. This has been going on for decades. It’s time to fix it.
WORD
I have said that the Irish have 12 National Titles since 1993. You are completely correct. If the shoe fits, then the Irish are the 1993 National Champions. Is there any thought on your part to contact the athletic director and try to start a campaign to get this done?
I think you’re going to see more and more teams opt out of non-playoff bowl games. They will quickly become meaningless scrimmage games. Any player entering the NFL draft will opt out because why would they risk an injury in a scrimmage bowl with little meaning. And teams that have even the slightest chance of making the playoffs next season won’t play their best players because they won’t want to risk injury that takes them out next season.
Pre-playoffs was different. Back then a bowl win could potentially boost your chances at a big bowl game or even a NC Championship game. Now, with 12 teams getting in (or 11 plus Alabama if we’re being honest), you really don’t need that pre-season boost. If you win all your games, or only have maybe 1 or 2 losses you’re likely in. I don’t think this was ND throwing a tantrum. I think this was 2 things. One, they know they should have been in over Alabama and any other bowl is an insult. But more importantly, they have a pretty good chance of making the playoffs next year so why risk injuring any players in what is basically a glorified practice game?
I don’t ever want to hear anyone complain about ND bias. If anything it’s the reverse. The playoff committee went out of it’s way to exclude ND. While I don’t like Miami because, well it’s Miami, I don’t have a big problem with them getting in given the H2H. The problem with the committee is they seem to change their models on the fly. H2H was not an issue all season for them until this week. But that’s not Miami’s fault. They honestly shouldn’t even bother releasing week to week rankings because they are virtually useless on predicting playoff positions because they change their minds on the fly.
There is definitely a pro-Alabama bias though. Absolutely. 3 losses and they got crushed in the SEC championship game and they are in? Come on. I hope Alabama gets crushed in it’s first game so the committee looks like total morons. They should just make the playoffs Alabama +11 other teams. Because they are telling us Alabama basically gets an automatic berth.
As far as not playing in the bowl game? I get it. Non-playoff bowls are meaningless scrimmage games nowadays. If you have players entering the NFL draft there’s no way they are going to want to play in a BS bowl with no implications and risk injury and I wouldn’t blame them. Also any team within sniffing distance of the playoffs next season are not going to play their best players and risk a catastrophic injury. They will quickly become a glorified practice game. You’re going to see more and more teams opting out of non playoff bowls.
If a team plays an FCS school, the conference championship game HAS to matter. Bama’s record this year against FBS teams: 9-3. Notre Dame’s record this year against FBS teams: 10-2. Enough said.
Somehow nobody is talking about that.
Yeah, total BS. That is the real scandal. There is most definitely a pro Alabama bias. They might as well make the playoffs Alabama +11 other teams because they pretty much have an automatic berth.
After the A& M loss, I wasn’t real hopeful that ND would make it in the CFP as a 2 loss independent. I think it’s clear that as a consequence being independent, ND has to finish no worse than 11-1 or 12-0 and/or petition to play a 13 game regular season as an independent to somewhat equal the lack of a conference championship. As to what occurred with the CFP selection, no not happy. I’m not mad about the Miami h2h issue. I do have an issue a 3 loss team is being allowed in and further suffered no penalty for that 3rd loss in a conference championship ( though a win would then be allowed to benefit the team) and how that affected the selection ( ask BYU about being penalized after losing in conference championship). I also don’t like 2 G5 teams are in the CFP taking up spots ( I think G5 should hold their own playoff). Let’s be honest, ND lost 2 of the most meaningful opponents on their schedule. That didn’t help. In regards to opting out of the bowl game, if it was the team deciding that then so be it. If it was administration/AD, then a not so great look and makes ND look like it’s having a tantrum by not getting its way. I remember the 96 team finishing 8-3 and opting out of playing in a bowl ( without people griping about that) and ND’s past no bowl play prior to the 70’s, at least shows there is some institutional history of that. The exaggerated outcry by the media of ND opting out of the bowl is also a bit disingenuous . Well, 10-2 not a bad year. Look forward to spring and next season. I hope Coach Freeman used this a motivational tool and go out and show no mercy next fall to any opponent, stay on the gas pedal. Go Irish!
As a 1969 ND grad and as a life life long rabid ND fan, I do think the decision to forego a bowl game reflects poorly on my dear alma mater. It’s like throwing a tantrum. Win out, get snubbed, and then you can complain.
Don’t lose two games and there is nothing to worry about. Skipping the bowl game is a bad look and the first thing I disagree with Freeman about. FSU basically did that after 2023 and their program has been in shambles ever since.
I don’t fear the program “in shambles” if they skip out on pop tarts.
It was the team’s leadership’s call to skip pop tarts, according to Eric Hansen. ND doesn’t need to chase the money. But you’re all free to go eat pop tarts on your own.
The idea ND can’t lose more than 1 (and even last year they wanted ND out due to 1 loss) but AL has to lose 4 to get they are not national champs is baloney. AL squeaked through their SEC schedule with less than +5 points per game average. They lost their last game in a blowout and didn’t move down. In last few weeks ND has outscored opponents by over a 100 while AL goes down to the wire against teams with losing record or get blown out and yet AL goes up while we go down. The games don’t mean anything at all.
And mike norvell is NOT markus freeman, skipping the bowl game means nothing.
But it did send the right message to espn-sec nation, you cant play a game none of the players or fans or coaches have any interest in.