SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Notre Dame students woke up in a snow globe Friday morning, a few inches of fresh powder on the ground as snowflakes swirled through the air to usher in the start of college football’s new era.
It was late December in northern Indiana, so the wintry weather was hardly surprising. And that’s the point — whatever the elements, whatever the temperature, this was going to be where a meaningful college football game was to be played. Notre Dame Stadium was going to host the first on-campus College Football Playoff game, hell or (frozen) high water.
The snow stopped by midday, but a chill remained. Students were done with finals, so they were free to tailgate all day — a tantalizing option for many. Irish jigs were playing, and beers were flowing by noon, a full eight hours before kickoff for Notre Dame’s first-round game against Indiana. The tailgating lots were standing-room only by nightfall.
Notre Dame fans celebrate during the second half of a game between the Indiana Hoosiers and the Notre Dame Fighting Irish in first round of the College Football Playoff on Saturday, Dec. 21, 2024, in South Bend. Notre Dame defeated Indiana 27-17.
Christine Tannous/IndyStar / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
This is a sport that stands tallest on Saturdays. And while Friday night is technically not Saturday, it embodied all that makes college football what it is. There was pomp, circumstance, tailgates and pep bands. There were dozens of drunk college guys who decided it was wise to go shirtless to a game played five days before Christmas. Fans lifted up strangers in the stands to commemorate points scored. The starting quarterback, who transferred here almost exactly a year ago, signed autographs after midnight for kids who had stayed up way past their bedtimes.
Though the game itself wasn’t super compelling — Notre Dame jumped out to a 14-0 lead and controlled the game the rest of the way, en route to a 27-17 win — its setting was. I can’t imagine anyone would have preferred a sterile neutral site to what we saw on Friday night. I watched Indiana fans (in basketball jerseys) roll up to South Bend in RVs to celebrate a most improbable season. I watched three generations of Notre Dame fans discuss their shared anxiety ahead of kickoff; they’d all returned to their alma mater for the biggest home game in decades because they’d rather be together in a place they loved, even if it went south. (Which it didn’t.)
“I’ve never been a part of an environment like that,” Notre Dame coach Marcus Freeman said. “I didn’t really get to take it all in because you’re focused on doing your job, but pregame I did. I took a minute to take it in.
“Not many times in life you’re the first to do something, and as I told the (team) in there, we were the first to play and win a Playoff game in Notre Dame Stadium. That’s historic. It’s something we’ll cherish for the rest of our lives.”
In some ways, it’s embarrassing that it took college football until 2024 to play its College Football Playoff games on campuses. But we all know why it took so long — those who run the biggest bowl games have great influence over this sport. It’s why every game of the four-team CFP era was played at a bowl or neutral site. It’s why, even now with a 12-team postseason field, bowls get to host the quarterfinal and semifinal rounds (with the national championship game played at NFL stadiums that bid to host it).
Notre Dame quarterback Riley Leonard (13) gives his towel to a young fan after winning the first round of the College Football Playoff 27-17 against Indiana at Notre Dame Stadium on Friday, Dec. 20, 2024, in South Bend.
MICHAEL CLUBB/SOUTH BEND TRIBUNE / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
But just because the bowls have always been intertwined in the fabric of college football doesn’t mean they have to direct its future. College towns are where this sport lives, and they are where most of the meaningful games should be played moving forward. The season ticket holders who can’t afford to travel to three (or four) neutral site trips each winter deserve it. The hole-in-the-wall restaurants and dive bars deserve it. The best teams in college football deserve it, too, even though right now the four highest-ranked conference champions are rewarded for their achievements with a first-round bye … and the opportunity to watch seeds 5 through 8 host home games that electrify their fan bases.
It’s not fair that Oregon and Georgia don’t get to host games in Eugene or Athens. It is a shame that a Playoff game won’t take place on the blue turf. These are iconic venues and special places that emphasize the “college” part of college football.
And as the sport’s leaders continue to evaluate the new Playoff format and perhaps change it again in the coming years, they should remember how this weekend made us feel. Because that’s the real magic of college football, and there are ways to spread it further. I sure hope they think about doing just that.
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