Editorial

Notre Dame Athletic Director Jack Swarbrick Says There Isn’t A Ton Of ‘Momentum’ For Playoff Expansion

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David Hookstead Sports And Entertainment Editor
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Notre Dame athletic director Jack Swarbrick doesn’t think changes to the college football playoff will happen anytime soon.

Swarbrick told NDInsider.com the following when asked about potential expansion prior to 2025:

I don’t want to speculate on that. I don’t sense a lot of momentum. But again, this is a group of individuals who cares about college football and think about it all the time. And so that’s all you want, a process where people are always talking about how to make the game better. But I don’t sense any particular momentum for change right now.

Well, this isn’t exactly great news. I think most people agree that there has to be some kind of expansion sooner than later. (RELATED: David Hookstead Is The True King In The North When It Comes To College Football)

Let’s not forget that UCF went undefeated, and was left out both times. One of those times, they went and beat the SEC West champions, Auburn, in a bowl game.

Yet, they never even got the chance to play in the playoff.

To me, expansion is shockingly simple. The Power 5 conference champions get auto bids, then there’s three at large bids and one of them can be reserved for a Group of 5 team that goes undefeated and finishes in the top 15 or top 12.

The exact ranking necessary for a Group of 5 team can be figured out later, but if they’re undefeated and ranked high enough, then they should get a shot.

Fans want as much college football as we can get. Expanding the playoff means more games. What do more games translate into?

More cash. If we can’t appeal to the common sense of the NCAA and the power brokers involved, then I guess we’ll just have to appeal to their wallets.

At that point, if they’re not down, then fans should riot.

Either way, change has to happen. Do I expect it to happen by tomorrow or the end of the week? Of course not. It’s going to take years, but it has to get done.

It’s what the fans want, and that’s all that ultimately matters.