Notre Dame’s recent shambolic defeat to Northern Illinois at home ignited criticism of the College Football Playoff (CFP) system with an added prospect of the 12-team format. Even though Notre Dame’s Marcus Freeman is in the pit, there is a second chance. That is not sitting well with some sports analysts. 

College football analyst Tom Fornelli pointed out this problem in a video on X wherein he was perplexed as to how Marcus Freeman’s boys could still make it to the playoffs after a loss like that. Fornelli’s main point? If you lose a game like this, then you are not right, to be given another opportunity to demonstrate that you are the best team in the country. “Notre Dame losing at home to Northern Illinois… and still being in playoff talks is why the 12-team playoff is terrible,” Tom said.

Starting this year, college football has moved from a four- to a 12-team playoff system. This is a major change in how teams can advance to the championship game. Previously, the four teams were chosen based on rankings, whereby the best teams were chosen, but sometimes, the most promising teams were not considered. One good example is the Florida State of last season. Although the team was unbeaten through the regular season, they failed to be included in the playoffs after being deemed to have an easy playthrough schedule, and their first-string quarterback was out of commission. 

This incurred the wrath of many who felt that Seminoles were well capable of challenging for the title. More teams get opportunities to participate, including conference champions and at-large teams, but the new 12-team format has problems, according to Fornelli, in that it undermines the importance of regular-season games and grants an opportunity to teams that don’t deserve another chance.

A broken system or just more opportunities?

To Fornelli, there is solid evidence that Marcus Freeman’s Notre Dame is far from being the best team, and it feels wrong to give them a second chance. Then there are those critics who would like to argue that 12-team playoffs create more chances for teams which were bad on the particular game day and should be accepted. But Fornelli believes that it is perhaps where the issue lies. This way, he doesn’t want the playoffs to be a second chance where a team like Notre Damn, after a loss like this, can just win out and be back in the race for a title. It detracts from the value of each particular match in the regular season.

That just opens up another dimension to analyze whether this format is catering to the best teams or the ones who can just about manage survival after a pathetic performance. The ‘playoff’ system is what annoys Fornelli, and this stems from the argument that every game should be a test for the best teams, including those that they are supposed to demolish. Marcus Freeman’s team’s loss shows that they are not one of those teams this year and, therefore, should not be given a chance at a title.