FCS CEO: Notre Dame wasn’t in our pool of teams to select

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Notre Dame‘s unexpected decision to forgo a bowl game after being left out of the College Football Playoff surprised many in the college football world.

This move had significant repercussions, leading the ACC and bowl executives nationwide to scramble to fill open spots late into Sunday afternoon.

While the Fighting Irish were rumored to be a possible candidate for the Pop-Tarts Bowl, that wasn’t the case, according to Florida Citrus Sports CEO Steve Hogan.

“We have a selection in the ACC and we have a selection in the Big 12 and until we’re assigned the team pool that we can select from, we can’t make a pick,” Hogan said of the process behind team selections. “It took a lot longer than anticipated. We were on a call for a couple of hours, working through exactly what that pool would be. As soon as they gave us the pool, we jumped at the chance to take Georgia Tech.

“Notre Dame wasn’t in that pool when it came time to pick, so we were circling Georgia Tech.”

FCS oversees the Cheez-It Citrus and Pop-Tarts bowls at Camping World Stadium.

No. 22 Georgia Tech (9-3) finished among a handful of teams in the ACC at 6-2, along with SMU, Pittsburgh and conference champion Duke. The Yellow Jackets will face No. 12 BYU (11-2, 8-1), which could also make the argument that it was left out of the Playoff field after the Cougars finished as runner-ups to Texas Tech for the Big 12 title.

Georgia Tech is making its third bowl appearance in Orlando, its first since the 2004 season, while BYU is making its third, having previously played in the 1985 Citrus Bowl and the 1976 Tangerine Bowl.

“If you’ve been watching the projected ranked picks for the Pop-Tarts bowl for weeks now, you were looking at Georgia Tech at the top of that list,” said Hogan. “The fact that the opportunity to get BYU here, to go with them, is a special treat.”

Notre Dame wasn’t the only bowl-eligible team to opt out of playing in the postseason, as Kansas State and Iowa State also declined a spot. Both teams recently underwent a coaching change and both were fined $500,000 apiece by the Big 12 for their decisions.

Hogan believes that once the dust settles, Notre Dame players may regret their decision.

Cheez-It Bowl set to welcome blue bloods Michigan, Texas

“You understand the rawness of the last few hours and the way they received the information was about as raw as it could be,” he said. “Everybody is experiencing the 12-team playoff together and you can understand the disappointment.

“The opportunity to have played in a game like this is something that I would think the team and players ultimately may step back and say, ‘I wish we could have been considered alongside Georgia Tech to play the No. 12 team.’”

Notre Dame had been previously ranked at No. 10 in the playoff rankings on Tuesday, ahead of No. 12 Miami. The two teams played in the first week of the season, with the Hurricanes coming away with a 27-24 win over the Irish.

But in Sunday’s rankings, the Playoff selection committee had Miami leapfrog Notre Dame, opening the door for the ‘Canes to earn a spot in the 12-team field.

“We debated for so long on 9, 10 and 11 until the early morning hours and woke up at sunrise to do the same thing to try and make sure we got it right,” said Hunter Yurachek, CFP selection committee chairman.

Sunday’s decision was akin to when Florida State was left out of the playoff field in 2023, despite the Seminoles finishing the regular season undefeated (13-0).

“I hope this isn’t indicative of some of the decisions we made in the future,” said Hogan. “I understand when it’s a little bit further down the lineup, you have some six-win teams or five-win teams trying to fill a spot where a coach is gone. That’s not the case here. You play at the highest level. You’re playing in games that are highly watched in terms of ratings. It’s a huge opportunity.

“If you step back, maybe some may regret not taking that opportunity, but we’ll have to let that play out.”

Please find me on X, Bluesky or Instagram @osmattmurschel. Email: mmurschel@orlandosentinel.com. 

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