James Franklin Wants Notre Dame To Join A Conference In Football

Ah, the age-old debate: Should Notre Dame join a college football conference? If you thought we were past that, you’d be wrong. Penn State head coach James Franklin, whose Nittany Lions face the Fighting Irish in the Orange Bowl on Thursday night, says Notre Dame should join a conference, along with all other FBS schools.

“This is no knock on Coach [Marcus Freeman] or Notre Dame, but I think everybody should be in a conference,” Franklin said during a joint press conference with Freeman ahead of the Orange Bowl showdown. 

“I think everybody should play a conference championship game or no one should play a conference championship game. I think everybody should play the same number of conference games.”

It’s hard to disagree with Franklin here. Some teams were hurt by having to play in a conference championship game and the four teams that won their conferences and earned a bye in the College Football Playoff all lost. 

Certainly, they didn’t lose in the CFP because they won their conference championship, but it does seem odd that some teams in the CFP played one fewer game – and, to put it in NFL terms, essentially had a Week 18 bye – while others had to play for a championship. 

There’s an argument to be made that playing that extra game helps, since there’s less time off before the College Football Playoff, but that didn’t seem to help this year. 

Penn State head coach James Franklin said every college football team should join a conference and that would include the Nittany Lions’ Orange Bowl opponent, Notre Dame.

(Norm Hall/Getty Images)

Now, Notre Dame, one could argue, is at a disadvantage because they can’t win a conference championship and, thus, cannot earn an automatic berth – or a bye – into the College Football Playoff. 

But that’s more of an argument for having them join a conference. 

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I’d like to take it a step further. Since we’re playing all these extra games anyway, why don’t all the teams in a conference play an additional game? 

The top two teams play for the conference championship. That doesn’t change. But, then, why not have the third-place team play the fourth-place team? And so on, down the entire line of the conference. 

It would give more information so that the CFP committee could make a more informed decision about playoff qualifiers, it would eliminate the extra game for some teams while others receive a bye, it would make more money for college football (the most important factor), and it would provide a whole new slate of games, and good games between relatively evenly-matched programs, for fans. 

I love it, but that’s because it’s my idea. What do you think? 

Email me at Dan.Zaksheske@outkick.com.