Once Notre Dame suffered a 24-13 loss to Cincinnati, everyone knew its College Football Playoff chances had gone down to virtually zero. As is custom for people who don’t care for the Irish, their emotions ranged from nothing short of gleeful to relieved that a “real” team now can make the playoff. One person who took to Twitter to express his thoughts on the matter was Peter Burns, a studio anchor for the SEC Network. It took him until Sunday morning to do so, but he held nothing back:
Sorry @mikegolicjr, it was better for Notre Dame to take that loss last night.
Better to go 11-1 and celebrate a good team, then the Irish getting housed in the 1st round of the CFB Playoff by UGA or Bama again.
Think big picture….
— Peter Burns (@PeterBurnsESPN) October 3, 2021
Mike Golic Jr. wasted little time responding to Burns, as did his father:
Sorry Peter that is a ridiculous statement
— Mike Golic (@golic) October 3, 2021
I will always disagree with this. As long as they’re inviting people, I’d still rather be in the dance. https://t.co/KuRoKxm2Y8
— Mike Golic Jr (@mikegolicjr) October 3, 2021
I’m not going to pretend that the Irish have risen to the occasion when they’ve made the playoff or even looked pretty in those games. However, why can’t we have our cake and eat it, too? Isn’t being considered one of only four teams good enough to play for college football’s top prize an honor in its own right? It should be, especially for teams not in the SEC.
Every fan wants their team to win a national championship, but they know it isn’t destined to happen every year. Three of the four teams who make the playoff won’t have that ultimate goal realized. Still, look at all of the teams that don’t make the cut. I’d even say that it’s insulting to list the teams that immediately missed the cut.
Is Burns really saying that a program like Notre Dame would be better off playing in a bowl game nobody watches or at least has no real stakes involved? Sure, the Irish would be happy to be invited to a New Year’s Six Bowl, but shouldn’t they make the playoff if they had a strong regular season with one or zero losses? Pick another hill to die on, Peter.