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Marcus Freeman Makes Notre Dame’s Playoff Expansion Stance Clear to Keep Key Advantage Despite Scheduling Changes

Notre Dame coach Marcus Freeman has made it clear the program’s push for a 24-team College Football Playoff is driven by self-interest rather than broader reform. With the Irish riding a 16-game winning streak and ranked No.

2, Freeman argued during a recent appearance on *The Pat McAfee Show* that expanding the playoff to 24 teams would better protect Notre Dame’s independent status while ensuring more automatic postseason berths. The program’s vulnerability was exposed last season, when Notre Dame finished 10-2 but missed the 12-team playoff entirely—a scenario Freeman wants to avoid as the CFP nears a deal to adopt the larger format starting in 2027.

Under the proposed structure, the top eight seeds would earn first-round byes, while teams seeded ninth through 16th would host opening-round games, a setup that would have included Notre Dame based on last year’s rankings. To secure these advantages, the Irish may need to accept a tougher non-conference schedule, including more games against SEC and Big Ten opponents, with athletic director Pete Bevacqua leading negotiations with ESPN.

The SEC already mandates its teams play either a Power Four opponent or Notre Dame in three non-conference games, and the Irish have Auburn scheduled for next season, followed by Arkansas, Texas, and Alabama in the coming years—all while maintaining their five-game ACC slate as an independent.

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