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After being rightfully jumped by Miami in the final College Football Playoff standings and missing out on a chance to compete for a championship, the Notre Dame Fighting Irish took their ball and went home for the season.
Rather than playing in the Pop-Tarts Bowl against BYU, the Irish turned down a bowl invite, claiming that it wasn’t in the best interest of their program. Although Front Office Sports reports that the school believes it is sending some sort of message to ESPN.
“As a team, we’ve decided to withdraw our name from consideration for a bowl game following the 2025 season,” the Fighting Irish said via a statement released on social media. “We appreciate all the support from our families and fans, and we’re hoping to bring the 12th national title to South Bend in 2026.”
So much for the “Fighting” aspect of their nickname.
However, the decision presents a much bigger issue for college football. Will big-name programs begin to follow suit and turn down bowl games any time they miss the College Football Playoff?
Former Rose Bowl-winning coach Rick Neuheisel believes he has a solution.
Rick Neuheisel Believes Bowl Games Could Move To The Beginning Of The Season
The one thing that college football does not currently have are preseason games. Programs have discussed playing a competitive scrimmage rather than a spring game. But that hasn’t come to fruition.
What if, rather than a postseason exhibition, teams played a preseason exhibition? In theory, those games wouldn’t count for the official record and wouldn’t affect the rest of a team’s season? And it could still be a television attraction for viewers.
“I think bowl games are going to end up being the first game of the year.”
– Rick Neuheisel on the future of bowl games in College Football. pic.twitter.com/wtEGYibnax
— Dan Patrick Show (@dpshow) December 8, 2025
“I think bowl games are gonna end up being the first game of the year,” Neuheisel said on the Dan Patrick Show. “I think we’re gonna end up seeing a bunch of these bowls go by way of the whales.”
Neuheisel also suggested the College Football Playoff could expand all the way to 24 teams in the near future, which would really kill bowl games.
Is this what’s best for college football and fans? That’s for each individual to decide. But it’s not that crazy of an idea.
A lot of problems you see with opt-outs would probably still persist in preseason games, as coaches wouldn’t want their best players to get hurt in “meaningless” games. But it would be a chance to get freshmen some college football experience, work out battles for starting jobs, and keep bowls alive.
So hey, it’s better than nothing.