Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly explained how the expanded 12-team College Football Playoff "works really well" for his team in an exclusive interview with The Athletic on Monday.
"I think we have to have a perspective of what doesn't force our hand relative to independence," Kelly said. "Look, if I'm sitting in Cincinnati, I love this. If I'm sitting in Alabama, meh, do I really need the other eight teams? Maybe not.
"So, perspective here, right? I know from a Notre Dame standpoint, this works really well if the narrative is secure yourself from not being forced out of independence."
The Fighting Irish are one of six schools that compete as an Independent at the NCAA's FBS level. They play five games a year against ACC opponents, the conference in which they compete in all other sports, besides ice hockey. As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, Notre Dame competed as a member of the ACC for just the 2020 season.
Notre Dame won't be able to qualify for a first-round bye as an independent team, but Kelly emphasized the team will get the week off prior to the playoffs anyway, saying, "We finish up early and then the conference championship games are being played. So in effect, we really do get a bye, right?"
The Fighting Irish coach added that teams will have to be more thoughtful in their preparation with the playoff expansion, including changing how players are used, deepening rosters and practicing smart later on in the season.
"It's a mindset challenge for some coaches, and they're going to have to adapt to it," Kelly said. "Or they're going to find themselves beat up in November and December and left out."
Notre Dame has appeared in two CFP semifinal games, the Cotton Bowl Classic in 2018 where it lost 30-3 to Clemson and the Rose Bowl on Jan. 1, 2021, in which the Fighting Irish were defeated by No. 1 Alabama.
Read more from The Athletic's interview with Kelly in the Go Deeper section below.
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June 29, 2021 at 04:13AM
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Notre Dame's Brian Kelly: Expanded College Football Playoff 'works really well' - The Athletic
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