There hasn’t been a lack of talk, takes, and everything in between about the College Football Playoff committee leaving Notre Dame out of postseason play.
But there have been few words from Notre Dame’s side.
Former Irish running back Jeremiyah Love sat down with Yahoo’s Caroline Fenton on Radio Row last week and addressed the playoff snub head-on.
Rather than echo the outrage from outside voices, Love offered accountability.
“We put ourselves in that predicament,” said Love. “We didn't do what we needed to do the first two weeks of the season. Started off 0-2. We picked it back up week after week and we were in the predicament that we're in because we put ourselves there.
“A lot of people say we got snubbed, but you got to just take it down to the details. If we did what we had to do first two weeks of the season we wouldn’t have been in that predicament, would have been in the playoffs, we would have went off and made a run.”
If Notre Dame missing the playoffs wasn’t a hot enough topic, the Irish made waves hours later when the program decided not to accept an invitation to play in the Pop-Tarts Bowl against BYU.
Many saw it as sour grapes, which Notre Dame had a right to feel, but there was much more to the decision to end the season than emotion.
“It was kind of an everybody decision,” Love stated. “Our captains had the final say so. The captains made sure that they talked to every player and got their input. The end result of that was not to play in the Pop-Tarts Bowl.”
For Love, the choice effectively closed the book on his collegiate career. But he was at peace with it.
“I probably wouldn't go play in a bowl game anyway,” explained Love. “It didn't really affect me personally, but as a team, I definitely agree with the decision because going into that game, if we decided to play, it wouldn't have been the right representation of how great that team was.
“Probably a lot of starters would have opted out. Guys were probably going to the league, or whether they were transferring, whatever it may have been, it just wouldn't have been a great representation of that great football team that we built throughout the offseason.”
The decision not to play in a bowl game brought out the Notre Dame hate in full force. Love had experienced it before, so it wasn’t anything new, but that’s life in the Notre Dame fish bowl.
“It’s kind of crazy because one moment, literally, people will love you. They're saying all types of great things about you and then the next moment, they hate you.
“It be your own fans sometimes, too. Some days they’re on your side and the next day, they’re not. That's just what it is to be a Notre Dame football player or to be a Notre Dame fan. One day, people love you. The next day, they hate you. There's no in between at all.”
Love leaves behind a legacy that places him among the program’s all-time greats. When asked which moment stands above the rest, he didn’t hesitate: The 2025 Orange Bowl.
“Penn State,” explained Love. “It was a semifinal game to go to the National Championship. That game was crazy. It was a lot of crazy moments in that game. You got JG (Jaden Greathouse) breaking two guys off for a touchdown. You got me breaking through like eight people to score a touchdown. You got Christian Gray’s game-winning interception. (Mitch) Jeter's game-winning field goal. It was a lot of moments in that game.
“I feel like that was probably the best game of just being there and experiencing everything, and probably the best game of my life. Not probably not performance wise. I was hurt. I couldn't do everything I wanted to do. I had a crazy hurdle in that game, too. That was definitely probably my favorite moment, or just a favorite memory of my past.”
Now, his focus shifts to the next chapter. Love is preparing for the NFL Combine, aiming to solidify himself as a Top 10 pick.
“A guy who's willing to do anything for the organization to have success, willing to do anything in order for the team to have success,” Love said when asked what he’ll bring to an NFL franchise. “I'm the type of guy who wants to come in and do whatever you need me to do, whether it's run the ball, catch the ball, block, or play special teams. I'm here to do it all.
“I'm adaptable and I'm a team guy. Make some plays. I'm gonna do what I got to do to put on for the city I'm so lucky to get drafted to and the team as well.”
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