(Photo: Oliver Tapia)
At 11:30 p.m. Eastern, with Notre Dame backed up to its own 16-yard line in punt formation, Josh Burnham — a productive defensive end moonlighting as an up-back — suddenly became a quarterback. Marty Biagi’s trickery took center stage at a moment when the Irish led just 14–0 and the late night contest was still unsettled. Burnham took the snap, kept his composure, and found super-sub safety Luke Talich in the near flat. Talich did the rest, jetting 84 yards to the end zone.
One snap, one throw, one touchdown. Burnham’s stat line? 1-for-1, 84 yards, 1 TD, QBR 1135.6. Not a bad day’s work for a defensive lineman.
Once again, the unexpected works for the Irish. At this point, the only thing unexpected would be Marcus Freeman doing something expected.
With the 21–0 cushion, Notre Dame cruised. Another opponent was dismantled, 49–20, in a game that ended near 2 a.m. And with it, Notre Dame completed an improbable run: ten straight wins by an average of 29.7 points after an 0–2 start.
The résumé is complete.
From Freeman’s Perspective: Control What You Can Control
After the game, Marcus Freeman echoed the theme he’s preached for months — don’t look ahead, value the opportunity right in front of you.
“We had an opportunity to earn this year’s Legends Trophy,” he said. “There’s a lot of talk about what happens after this, but we couldn’t focus on that… They came out and played really, really well.”
On the fake punt? Freeman smiled.
“It was something we’d been working on… We got the look, checked to it, executed it. Credit to Coach Biagi. It really put this game in a position where we knew we were in the driver’s seat.”
Asked what he’d tell the committee, Freeman didn’t blink:
“You want the 12 best teams now, not Week 1. It’s hard to argue we aren’t one of those teams.”
It’s a compelling case. And now the Irish must wait to see if the committee agrees.
What Happens Next: The Committee, the Chaos, and Notre Dame’s Place in It
For all the noise this weekend, one thing is clear: Miami isn’t Notre Dame’s problem. The committee has kept the Irish ahead of the Hurricanes all season, and nothing about ND’s 49–20 win versus Miami’s 38–7 result over Pitt should flip that.
The real wildcard is BYU.
If the Cougars upset Texas Tech in the Big 12 Championship, they claim an automatic bid. The Red Raiders are likely safe regardless, so that tightens the at-large pool. As of last week, that put Alabama at No. 10, just behind No. 9 Notre Dame, making the at-large race more crowded.
BYU winning increases pressure on the at-large spots, meaning Notre Dame needs every bit of momentum and style points to stay comfortably ahead. Flipping spots with Oklahoma this Tuesday could provide relief. Jumping to No. 8 while the Sooners slip to No. 9 would make the Irish position dramatically safer. And yes — those late Stanford touchdowns matter too.
In résumé knife fights, style points are oxygen.
And here’s the cautionary scenario:
- Alabama beats Georgia in the SEC Championship, becoming SEC champions and claiming an automatic bid.
- BYU beats Texas Tech in the Big 12 Championship, locking in another automatic bid.
In that combination, the at-large pool becomes extremely tight. Notre Dame, despite their 10 straight double-digit wins and dominant résumé, could be squeezed out because it is likely that neither Georgia or Texas Tech would fall behind the Irish, Alabama would move ahead of the Irish and BYU you would join the CFP party in this scenario. This is the “worst-case” scenario for the Irish: two automatic bids pulling at-large slots, leaving ND vulnerable even with a stellar season.
The Waiting Game
The résumé is done. The improvement is undeniable. The momentum is real.
Now Notre Dame’s postseason fate rests on a simple, unconventional root-for list:
- Root for Texas Tech.
- Root for Georgia.
- Root for a sane committee room.
Until then? The Irish have done everything they can.