Notre Dame Accused Of 'Cheating' College Football With 'Free Pass' To Playoff

Last year, the Notre Dame football team was so disgusted at being left out of the College Football Playoff that they boycotted their bowl game and the administration made moves to ensure that they would never be left on the outside looking again if in a similar situation.

For Matt Hayes of USA Today, those actions combined with the team’s scheduling decisions have him accusing the Fighting Irish of seeking a “free pass” to the College Football Playoff. In a new article, he attempted to outline why he feels that Notre Dame is doing more harm than good.

“We’re getting cheated, people,” Hayes wrote. “We’ve been sold a bag of College Football Playoff goods — a free pass, no less — that the SEC and Big Ten willingly gave Notre Dame for some long-gone ideal of ‘television loves the Irish.’ Only television doesn’t love Notre Dame. It loves compelling games.”

Notre Dame’s rigged free pass to CFP is cheating college football. https://t.co/ULd75K7slg

— Matt Hayes (@MattHayesCFB) October 13, 2026

Hayes went on to admonish the powers that be for treating their upcoming top-10 matchup with BYU as a game that “validates” Notre Dame’s ranking when he feels that they simply haven’t proven themselves against any other stiff opposition. He believes that

“Not an SEC or Big Ten heavyweight, but BYU ― the school that last season played two difficult games and lost both to Texas Tech. Just in case you’ve forgotten, Texas Tech didn’t score a point on Oregon in last year’s CFP quarterfinals,” he continued.

“A Notre Dame win over BYU no more validates Irish bonafides than an Ole Miss win over Louisville. Same thing, different teams.”

Fans Lash Out

College football fans mocked and criticized Hayes for how he framed the argument:

“Imagine being mad about a team in the top 12 getting a spot in a 12 team playoff,” one user on X remarked.

“From a SEC homer. Imagine actually typing it is unjust that if Notre dame finishes in the top 12 they’re guaranteed a playoff spot and thinking this is a free pass. Shouldn’t every team ranked in the top 12 get into the playoff? It’s such a non issue it’s laughable,” wrote another.

“Writing this article and not even mentioning, much more explain, what happened to ND last year is so revealing. You can almost taste the emotional and seething hatred while reading this,” a third wrote.

Do you think that Notre Dame is “cheating” their way into the College Football Playoff?

This story was originally published by The Spun on Oct 13, 2026, where it first appeared in the College Football section. Add The Spun as a Preferred Source by clicking here.