We at Trojans Wire are unafraid to say it: We love Fighting Irish Wire editor Nick Shepkowski.
We love Nick for many reasons, but one is that even if something benefits Notre Dame, Nick won’t automatically like it.
It’s a lot like our reaction to USC leaving for the Big Ten. We understood why USC did it. We knew it was in USC’s best interests. We didn’t disagree with Carol Folt’s decision.
Yet, we didn’t like it, because it eroded college football’s traditions, most centrally the Rose Bowl and more broadly the idea that USC and Ohio State are meant to play on January 1, not October 27.
Nick Shepkowski naturally knows that a 12-team College Football Playoff plan helps Notre Dame. With six at-large bids in the plan, Notre Dame should have little trouble making the playoff on a regular basis. Yet, just because something is good for Notre Dame doesn’t mean it’s good for college football.
Nick said as much at Fighting Irish Wire:
All this does is give teams who lose regular season games an extra out or two and that goes against everything that has helped to make college football great.
The College Football Playoff significantly watered down the regular season already by pretty much saying conference championships don’t matter and taking away the punishment for slip-ups that wasn’t previously allowed in the game.
Now were counting down until 12 teams will get the chance to play in the College Football Playoff.
12.
USC and Notre Dame are both bastions of college football tradition. Fans at the schools cherish tradition.
Tradition is getting kicked in the teeth by various changes in the industry. It’s sad, and we’re right there with Nick Shepkowski in a spirit of solidarity … and lamentation.