Notre Dame wants a bigger College Football Playoff, and Marcus Freeman isn’t pretending it’s about what’s best for college football. The Irish are riding a 16-game winning streak and sitting at No. 2, but last season exposed just how vulnerable their independence makes them. Despite finishing 10-2, Notre Dame was left out of the 12-team playoff.
Now, with a 24-team expansion reportedly nearing a deal, Freeman sees an opportunity to protect that independence while securing an easier path to the postseason. But here’s the catch: Notre Dame may have to accept a tougher schedule to get what it wants. So, can the Irish keep enjoying the privileges of independence while demanding a bigger piece of the playoff?
“I’m biased because I’m opinionated towards Notre Dame,” Freeman said during The Pat McAfee Show, according to an X post by SportsCenter. “I’m not saying this is what’s best for college football. What do I believe in that’s best for Notre Dame? And that’s the more opportunities we have to get into the playoffs, the better. So I’m a proponent on expanding it.”
Freeman spoke on The Pat McAfee Show on Friday, a day after ESPN’s Pete Thamel reported the CFP is nearing a deal to go to 24 teams starting in 2027. The Big Ten pitched the 24-team idea in August 2025, the SEC slowly came around later, and ESPN is expected to buy the extra games. Freeman was asked what he thought about the reported expansion.
“Twenty-four teams would be great. Now, I don’t want to. It’s not right to probably go to 64 or seventy-whatever March Madness has. But I’m a proponent of 24 teams because it’s going to give Notre Dame football a better chance to get in the playoffs and probably keep our independence.”
The Fighting Irish don’t have a conference to fall back on. When the playoff format was first being discussed, one proposal called for automatic bids for conference champions, a setup that could have put Notre Dame at a disadvantage as an independent.
Under the reported format, the top eight seeds would get first-round byes, while teams seeded ninth through 16th would host opening-round games. Based on last year’s rankings, Notre Dame would have made the field and hosted a playoff game if the 24-team format was implemented.
Yahoo Sports’ Ross Dellenger reported that Notre Dame is expected to play SEC and Big Ten schools more often as part of the deal, with athletic director Pete Bevacqua playing a central role in negotiations with ESPN. The SEC already requires its teams to play a Power Four opponent, or Notre Dame, among three non-conference games.
The Irish have Auburn lined up for next season, followed by Arkansas and Texas in 2028, and Alabama and Texas in 2029. Notre Dame typically plays five ACC opponents each season while remaining independent, with its own NBC broadcast deal.
“We’re going to improve our schedules, and I’m totally comfortable doing that as a commitment,” Big Ten commissioner Tony Petitti said, as he has already signed on to the schedule part of this.
The Irish went 0-2 against Miami and Texas A&M last September; then they won ten straight games and later opted out of a bowl. This year, they beat Stanford 58-7 last weekend. Freeman is 4-4 in true road games against ranked teams.
The BYU game is also a chance for Notre Dame to end a long drought against top-10 teams on the road. The Irish haven’t won a true road game against a top-10 opponent since beating Oklahoma in 2012, and their schedule offers little time to dwell on the result, with Navy up next on October 31 before a November meeting with Miami.
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