ESPN analyst thinks Notre Dame should have saved the Pac-12

When all else fails just go ahead and blame Notre Dame.

When all else fails blame Notre Dame.

That might not be true throughout, but it seems to be the thought process for former Florida and Mississippi State head coach Dan Mullen. Mullen is an analyst at ESPN and had a thought that he felt was worth sharing recently in regards to Notre Dame and college football’s realignment.

“I’ll get in some trouble for this one. I wish college football would put the pressure — and it comes with one statement,” Mullen said. “You have to be in a conference to make the playoffs. At that statement, Notre Dame has a choice. They could go to the ACC, they could have gone to the Pac-12. They play a bunch of those teams. The Pac-12 would have taken them with open arms.”

“All of a sudden, they are saving a conference instead of being able to say ‘we’re kind of doing our own thing because we get every access whether or not we join your conference or not.’ The second they say you have to be in a conference to make the playoff, you force Notre Dame’s hand,” Mullen said. “That would have kept a lot of these conferences in college football alive.”

-Dan Mullen

There are so many things wrong here I’m not sure where to even start but I’ll try.