Notre Dame Would Benefit Most From A College Football Playoff Reseed

Notre Dame would be in a much better situation if the CFP reseeded after the first round, but that's not happening this season.

Notre Dame Fighting Irish quarterback Riley Leonard (13) celebrates with fans after winning a game between the Indiana Hoosiers and the Notre Dame Fighting Irish in first round of the College Football Playoff on Saturday, Dec. 21, 2024, in South Bend. Notre Dame defeated Indiana 27-17. / Christine Tannous/IndyStar / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

What if the College Football Playoff reseeded everyone?

It's the common complaint after the first round of the College Football Playoff. The first round wasn't great, but it would've been better had everyone been seeded according to their CFP ranking.

Since that's not happening, The Irish gets Georgia in the Quarterfinals. But in a reseed, the next round would look like this ...

No. 1 Oregon vs. No. 12 Arizona State
No. 2 Georgia vs. No. 9 Boise State
No. 3 Texas vs. No. 6 Ohio State
No. 4 Penn State vs. No. 5 Notre Dame

The No. 3 and No. 4 seeds in the current setup would be tasked with playing the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds. This format could be more exciting with greater unpredictability. The games would likely be better.

A Complete Reseeding Would Benefit Notre Dame the Most

As a lifelong Notre Dame fan and someone who covers the team, it's hard to argue that this format doesn’t benefit the Irish the most. No, it’s not just because the Irish would play Penn State instead of Georgia in the quarterfinals.

It’s because this format further diminishes the "13th game" factor. Notre Dame could walk into a scenario where the committee ranks it No. 1, gives it a home playoff game as the No. 5 seed, and then, after a re-rank, they would face the lowest-seeded team remaining. Hard not to like that option if you're Notre Dame.

That said, the format also rewards regular season success rather than just one game at the end of the season. It benefits teams that lose their conference championship but are still ranked higher than others, so Notre Dame isn’t the only one benefiting from this setup.

Whatever decision is made in the coming years—because change is absolutely coming—the system will never be perfect. A certain fanbase, conference, or ESPN commentator will always be happy or upset, no matter the outcome.