Kelly, Swarbrick Talk Playoff Scenarios, Including Playoff Expansion

The College Football Playoff rankings have remained firm over the last month with Alabama, Notre Dame, Ohio State and Clemson leading the charge. 

It's been a complicated season with twists and turns every week, but the playoff picture could become very clear by the end of next week as Clemson faces Notre Dame and Alabama will play Florida. 

The playoff picture could also become murky in a number of situations and that includes a Notre Dame loss to Clemson in the ACC Championship Game. 

Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly spoke on the Rich Eisen show about a scenario if the Irish should lose to Clemson. 

"Look, it's not my decision to make, but our body of work is pretty good," Kelly told Eisen. "We would have beaten the No. 1 team in the country and who knows how North Carolina is going to finish against Miami. 10-1 - if we're making an assumption losing to Clemson that's No. 4 in the country, I think that's a pretty good body of work. 

"It'll put us right there in terms of making a decision. I would say as long as we're competitive and playing at the level we've played at all year, yeah, we should probably be one of the four teams." 

Notre Dame Athletic Director Jack Swarbrick is on the College Football Playoff management committee, so he stayed away from bold statements on Wednesday, but he also made it clear the 2020 Fighting Irish team should be in the playoff. 

"As a member of the CFP management committee, I'm careful not to lobby," said Swarbrick. "I don't want to be seen as in that position. I think our team's performance speaks for itself. Incredibly proud of Brian, his staff and the young men on the team. 

"Wherever this season leads, this is going to be among the most memorable in my career just because of what everybody had to sacrifice and accomplish. 

"I think this is a really special group of kids and I'll leave my lobbying to that. I've never been around a group that cared more about each other, who established a better culture and who played harder. I've loved every minute being with them." 

Eisen also asked Kelly if he felt a two-loss Clemson program should make the playoff as its only losses would be to Notre Dame. 

"You're going to have to start comparing the two-loss teams against the single loss teams," Kelly stated to Eisen. "That becomes a whole lot different when you're talking about two losses versus a single loss team or an undefeated team like a Cincinnati, for example.

"I think that gets a little more complicated than maybe our situations. That's why it was so important for us to go undefeated, which we did. We don't control our own destiny. We still have to win. It puts us in a better situation."

The even hotter topic is what happens to Ohio State or a team that only plays six games. It's just over half the body of work ACC and SEC schools have put in and Kelly feels that matters at the end of the day. 

"It doesn't really matter what I believe," Kelly said to Eisen. "It matters what the committee believes. I believe as a football coach that 10 or 11 games is a lot different than five or six games because you're dealing with injuries, the psyche of a football team, you're dealing with COVID for another five or six weeks. The discipline of your football over that period of time. I think it makes a difference. 

"If you're just saying, 'Hey, it's all about the eye test and what that team looks like in a vacuum,' then it doesn't matter to them. As a football coach and somebody that understands all the nuances of putting a football team on the practice field and having to handle things in the training room and COVID, then I think playing 11 games versus five or six - absolutely matters." 

Swarbrick has a different approach than his coach as he gave credit to the committee for wanting to pick the four best programs for the playoff. 

"I love that the charge of the selection committee doesn't change," explained Swarbrick. "It's pick the four best teams. How they do that is grounded in the selection procedures that the management committee established, but that's the starting premise. 

"While this year has created a special challenge for that, maybe there's a few future year where some unique circumstance at one school, some tragedy of some nature impacts that school's ability to play the same number of games. We'll learn from this experience. 

"I'm glad there's no exclusion. I'm glad there's no you have to play X, but I think every game you play is important. It represents a data point. I know the selection committee will use all the data points available to pick the four best teams in the country." 

And yes, Swarbrick also joked that a 13th data point for Notre Dame might become irrelevant moving forward. 

"As we move forward, I'm thrilled to know it may not move that important whether you play 13 or 12 games," laughed Swarbrick. "Insert smile here." 

With that said, Kelly and Eisen also spoke about expanding the College Football Playoff this year as it's such a unique year. 

"I don't think that was ever really a concern of mine if they had decided to expand the field because of the uniqueness of the season and some teams not being able to play as many games," Kelly explained to Eisen. "I was OK with that. I think what for me was a bit of a stumbling block is what I kind of addressed in your question relative to 10 or 11 games versus five or six games.

"It seems like the committee has already addressed that and that's not an issue with them. That's fine. That's their call and I don't make those decisions. I have to coach a football team. 

"I think that from expansion and if they wanted to do those things, I never had an issue with that." 

In fact, it almost makes too much sense to Kelly to expand the playoff given the circumstances and differences in resumes. 

"You and I have been in this business a long time," Kelly said to Eisen. "This is my 31st year of being a head coach. You've been in it longer than most. It makes sense to both of us, but those guys that make the decision, it doesn't seem to make sense to them. I don't know why. You can't even go to the Rose Bowl and watch the game and we're going to play there? Why not expand it and give these other teams in this unique year an opportunity. 

"I think you and I are on the same page. I don't know that everybody else is that makes these decisions."