MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — You’ve never getting them in a conference now.
No matter what happens with Notre Dame’s magical College Football Playoff run, no matter where the improbable ride ends, this Irish team will go down as the one that secured the university’s beloved independent model.
If Notre Dame’s thrilling, last-second 27-24 victory Thursday over Penn State in the CFP Orange Bowl semifinal wasn’t enough, consider the reward for advancing to the national championship game: $20 million.
Notre Dame, everyone, is playing with house money with one game remaining in the CFP.
“We have the pieces in place now,” Notre Dame athletic director Pete Bevacqua told USA TODAY Sports late Thursday night outside a wild Irish locker room. “We have a long-term (media rights) deal with NBC, and it’s no secret that the playoff expansion to 12 teams helps us. We feel good about where we are moving forward.”
Just how good? It doesn’t matter who the Irish play from the Cotton Bowl semifinal – Ohio State or Texas – or if it ends in another national title for the storied program, it has no impact on the most important takeaway from this postseason run.
Notre Dame proved it could do what was, at best, a dream scenario of having its NBC cake and eating College Football Playoff pie, too. The shifting landscape of college football seemingly had Notre Dame in a no-win situation: stay independent and trail the Big Ten and SEC in revenue generation, or believe in the concept of finding the right coach and plan and reach every possible goal on the field.
And bank a load of cash in the process.
It was earlier this week when Penn State coach James Franklin said “everybody should be in a conference” — a direct shot at Notre Dame and its longstanding independent status.
But while college football moved forward this season with an expansion (and contraction) that left the Power Four with three 16-team conferences and one 18-team conference, Notre Dame stood its ground.
Now we know why.
The win over Penn State generated a $6 million payout for Notre Dame from the CFP. The breakdown of the complete Irish postseason haul:
— $4 million for qualifying for the CFP.
— $4 million for reaching the quarterfinals.
— $6 million for reaching the semifinals.
— $6 million for reaching the final.
So when cornerback Christian Gray intercepted an errant throw from Penn State quarterback Drew Allar at the Penn State 42 with less than a minute to play to set up the eventual game-winning 41-yard field goal from Mitch Jeter, Notre Dame had its statement game as a strong, healthy independent.
And a mega payout.
Notre Dame’s television deal with NBC is estimated to be worth $50 million annually. The CFP payout of $20 million moves Notre Dame to $70 million annually, nearly identical to the high-rent financial neighborhoods of SEC and Big Ten teams.
Bowl Subdivision teams who play in conferences must share their CFP payouts with their conference, and SEC and Big Ten teams will earn an estimated $70 million each.
If Notre Dame had joined either of those conferences, it would’ve had to share its NBC contract, and College Football Playoff proceeds — or likely eliminate the NBC deal altogether. Now the Irish are standing tall and alone once again in the college football landscape.
The bonus: they’re one win away from their first national title since 1988.
“These guys are just built different,” said Notre Dame coach Marcus Freeman. “This place is so special.”
Not long after the game, after they sang the Notre Dame fight song and celebrated beating another top five team in the CFP, Irish defensive coordinator Al Golden stood outside the locker room and tried to explain what just happened.
This unthinkable season, which seemed lost in September with a home loss to Northern Illinois, now has the feel of destiny. Somehow, some way, Notre Dame was beaten up by Penn State in the first half, and found a way to trail by only seven.
Somehow, some way, after Penn State scored two fourth quarter touchdowns to take a 24-17 lead, the Irish found a way again. Whether it was the gutty play of quarterback Riley Leonard – briefly knocked out of the game late in the first half and was checked for a concussion – or the dynamic ability of forgotten wideout Jaden Greathouse.
Or a defense that kept getting big stops, including an interception by cornerback Christian Gray that set up the game-winning drive. The ball nearly slipped out of Gray’s hands as he went to the ground, but he carefully scooped and tucked it in.
Golden called a different defensive front and stunt on the interception, and a different coverage.
“Didn’t play it all game.” he said. “I don’t want to say what it was, but we had to keep them guessing. We needed a stop, a big play. You make the call, feel good about it. We get the pressure, and Christian just makes an unbelievable play. We find a way. It’s happened over and over this season.”
Now there’s one game left, one last dance with a group of players who haven’t buckled in a win or walk scenario since the Week 2 loss to Northern Illinois. Because Notre Dame doesn’t play in a conference, it doesn’t play in a conference championship game to get an extra data point for the CFP selection committee.
Another loss this season would’ve likely been fatal to its CFP hopes. Instead, the Irish are one win from first national title since beating West Virginia in the 1989 Fiesta Bowl at the end of the 1988 season — since before the explosion of cable television’s impact on the sport. Before the CFP and the Bowl Championship Series and the Bowl Coalition and Bowl Alliance.
All the way back to the days of backroom postseason deals, when schools and conferences and bowls made decisions based on their best interests. And only after the games was a mythical national champion declared by an alphabet soup of news services.
A win against Ohio State or Texas in the national championship game would be the final step in the season of the unthinkable. But the biggest win, the biggest statement, arrived in the Orange Bowl.
“This has been a wonderful run,” Bevacqua said. “We have the history, the tradition, and our independence. And we feel we have the best coach in college football.”
You’re never getting them in a conference now.
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Matt Hayes is the senior national college football writer for USA TODAY Sports Network. Follow him on X at @MattHayesCFB.