Cam Newton Picks a Side in Notre Dame’s CFP Debate After James Franklin’s Clear Verdict Sparks Controversy

What a heck of a Friday for the Fighting Irish fans! Notre Dame rove through the College Football Playoff final on Thursday, beating Penn State 27-24 in a hairbreadth thriller. Fighting Irish kicker Mitch Jeter’s stellar 41-yard field goal with eight seconds left in the clock put the three points ahead of the Nittany Lions on the final score. Remember, when just a day back ND fans seemed to be in an excessive limbo over Penn State fans occupying the ticket sales graph more. They legit feared that if the Irish fans’ indifferent etiquette in the stadium visits in a neutral setting, the game could give an edge to the opponent and clinch their ticket to the final. But all their fear turned into ashes, walking out of a breathtaking final.

But still, critics can’t stop throwing shades on Marcus Freeman’s storied squad and their legitimacy to head to Atlanta on the 20th of January.

Cam Newton continues wreaking havoc on Notre Dame’s success 

Marcus Freeman’s start to the 2024 season wasn’t the best. The Week 2 loss to Northern Illinois shook the team to the core; a team like Notre Dame losing to an unranked opponent? Fair to say, the knives were out for the Fighting Irish head coach. Well, how did he react? Notre Dame has been unbeaten since then. Another amazing feat that the announcers mentioned during the clash against Penn State was that Marcus Freeman’s squad hadn’t conceded a halftime lead until their game yesterday. And that 3-10 score after the two-quarters of play, with Riley Leonard forced out due to a possible concussion- fair to say, it didn’t look good. What transpired in the second half was a masterclass in coaching and resilience.

However, the doubters remain. One among them is Cam Newton, the NFL vet who is still convinced. If you think a spot in the coveted college football final after a gritty fight can change his mind, you are just naïve. The analyst reaffirms his disbelief in the Fighting Irish with new stats and words.

Cam believes that not winning a conference championship didn’t do justice to their path to the finals. So, they just should give up on their independent status and join forces with Big 10, Big 12, or any power four. “They’re 7–0 against ranked opponents,” Newton said. “Now, that could be a very subjective and real kind of skewed kind of statistic. Those teams are as follows: Texas A&M, okay? Louisville, Navy [laughs], Indiana, Army, Georgia without Carson Beck, and then also Penn State. With that, I’m not trying to rain on their parade because their defense is legit. But I’m saying the road to where they’ve gotten, that’s my question.”

Cam still sees the school as the basketball powerhouse that can’t be nailed in the gridiron whatsoever. ”This is not March Madness, this is no Cinderella Story this is the [__ ] gridiron gang doggy where you got to line it up constantly, consistently, and knock a [ __ ] in his [ _ ] face, talk to him, you feel what I’m saying like that March Madness.  That s_it’s cute, but they play basketball,” said the veteran analyst. When the Irish hurdled through the quarterfinal, toppling undefeated Indiana to a  27-17, the ESPN journalist blamed it on their schedule advantages.

He still does the same, keeping all the teams like Ohio State and Ole Miss ahead of the Fighting Irish in terms of earning rights through tough games. But no worries, Marcus Freeman, too, does what he does the best. Winning games and hurting the haters’ giant ego. The one that’s been hurt the most in the recent ground reality, however, is none other than the Penn State head coach, James Franklin.

Franklin couldn’t hold his tears while walking out of a cursed Miami stadium. Letting the ship sink in front of the shore is just not acceptable. The unbearable pain of 27-24 is going to haunt him and all the fans alike for a long time, but the undertone was outright different even a day back. Before the Nittany Lions stepped up for the semi, the coach dished an overtly cocky take on the opponent’s coach.

James Franklin slammed Notre Dame for staying out of conference plays

Notre Dame plays 12 games in a regular season. But they don’t play a championship game. They also don’t get to play a game in the 13th week, which works as a bye for them. Franklin drew a humiliating comparison and said that every program should be under the conference shield.

 ”I think everybody should play a conference championship game, or no one should play a conference championship game. I think everybody should play the same number of conference games. Things need to be consistent across college football,” said the Penn State coach, taking a subtle dig at Notre Dame’s unfair advantages over the others.

In the same media interaction, Freeman chimed in, responding, ”We get to play coast to coast, play multiple-different teams from multiple-different conferences. You start out the season in College Station and the end of the season in LA. And we’re in New York twice,”

At the end of the day, it’s Notre Dame that backed their argument with action, not Franklin or Penn State. So, you get who is the visionary!