The College Football Playoff committee’s arguably most controversial decision this year was to keep the historic Notre Dame Fighting Irish out of this year’s edition of the postseason tournament. Many fans saw it coming after two losses at the start of the season, and because they’re an independent school, not affiliated with any conference.
However, not everyone agreed that this was logical. Among the critics is former Alabama Crimson Tide coach Nick Saban, who recently said on the “Pat McAfee Show” that James Madison University making it to the CFP over Notre Dame is like a AAA team making it to the MLB postseason over a Wild Card team.
Legendary coach Nick Saban shares his thoughts on JMU making it to the CFP over Notre Dame 👀
(via @patmcafeeshow) pic.twitter.com/CQBvMPjEE0
— ESPN College Football (@ESPNCFB) December 18, 2025
It’s safe to say that fans didn’t take kindly to this comparison.
“They are in the same league. Notre Dame isn’t even in a conference. Dumb analogy,” said one fan.
“They play in the exact same league. That’s like saying the NL Central shouldn’t be allowed in the playoffs because the NL West exists. Such a tired argument. JMU got in over Duke, Miami got in over Notre Dame,” further explained another person.
“JMU and Notre Dame are in the same division,” simply said another fan.
“No it’s not Nick it’d be like the Savannah Bananas got invited to the be the World Series over the American League Champions if ND got invited instead of an actual conference champion 🤣🤣🤣,” joked somebody else.
Even inside the MLB, there are big differences between the teams that make the postseason.
“Notre Dame and JMU are in the same division…one just has way more resources and history. The comparison is not an MLB team vs a AAA team. If you are gonna go that route it’s closer to Dodgers vs Rays. 350M vs 88M in payroll,” said another fan.
Maybe this is personal for Nick Saban.
“Nick Saban been mad at G5 schools ever since Utah gave Bama a 2 piece combo and a biscuit in the sugar bowl,” explained someone.
Maybe the Fighting Irish aren’t the victims, but the BYU Cougars.
“BYU got screwed the most. They had the same amount of regular season losses as Oregon, A&M, Ole Miss, etc. ND was never getting in with two losses unless more teams around them lost an additional game. Anyone with a brain cell knew that after their second loss,” said someone.
Who Will James Madison Play in the College Football Playoff?
The James Madison Dukes face a tough game on Saturday, when they clash with the No. 5 Oregon Ducks at Autzen Stadium in Eugene, Oregon. The game is set for 7:30 pm ET. The Ducks are -21 point favorites and have an 88.2% chance of winning the encounter, according to the ESPN game predictor.
The Dukes arrive in virtue of their Sun Belt Championship win and being one of the best-ranked conference champions. The winner of the game will advance to play No. 4 Texas Tech at the Orange Bowl in the quarterfinals.
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