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By now, we've established the absurdity of Notre Dame's snub from the playoffs. With each passing game, we're left wondering what it would have looked like if the Irish played in the first round, the Rose Bowl or even the Cotton Bowl. Unfortunately, that won't get us anywhere and there are some key takeaways from the playoffs, and really even last year's playoffs, that Notre Dame should look at, evaluate and apply to their program as the gear up for the 2026 College Football Playoffs.
Offensively, points especially this year, have come at a premium. Team's have struggled to put together consistent offensive performances and we hadn't seen a real dominant performance on offense unit the late games on New Years Day. There's several factors as to why this has happened, but one of the biggest reasons is team's ability, or inability, to run the football with any level of consistency or success. For the Irish, running the football in the post season in next year's playoffs will be imperative.
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Let's take a brief stroll down memory lane. Last season, there was a total of 11 playoff games. In those 11 playoff games, nine of the teams that emerge victorious also won the ground game. In the first round of the playoffs, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Penn State and Texas dominated their opponents in the rushing attack. The Irish outgained the Hoosiers on the ground 193 to 63, the Buckeyes outgained the Volunteers on the ground 156 to 152, the Nittany Lions outgained the Mustangs on the ground 189 to 58 and the Longhorns outgained the Tigers on the ground 292 to 76.
We would go on to see more of the same in the quarterfinals. Notre Dame out-rushed Georgia 154 to 62, Ohio Stated out-rushed Oregon 181 to -23 and Penn State out-rushed Boise State 216 to 108. The outlier, was the Texas Longhorns who were out rushed by Arizona State 214 to 53. What was the difference in this matchup? Quarterback play. Longhorns quarterback Quinn Ewers outplayed Sun Devils quarterback Sam Leavitt. This is a common theme we'll see throughout the remained of the playoff games.
In the semi finals, Ohio State outgained Texas on the ground 81 to 58. But this was by far the closest game the Buckeyes played in the post season. Why? Because they finished the night with 81 total rushing yards. Notre Dame was outgained on the ground by Penn State 204 to 117. It's also not a coincidence that this was the closest game of their three wins that the Irish played in last year's playoffs as well. And we all know what happened in the National Championship; Ohio State out-rushed Notre Dame 214 to 53 on their way to a 34-23 victory.
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We've continued to see more of the same in this year's playoffs, but there have been more outliers than the previous year. In the first round, Oregon outgained James Madison on the ground 201 to 186. Ole Miss outgained Tulane in the run game 151 to 115 and Miami out-rushed Texas A&M on the ground 175 to 89. The outlier in the first round was Alabama winning on the road against Oklahoma 34-24 and being out gained on the ground 55 to 28. It was an ugly football game on the ground, but what was the outlier? Quarterback play.
In the quarterfinals that just wrapped up this past week, Miami outgained Ohio State on the ground 153 to 45 on their way to a 24-14 win. Indiana dominated Alabama on the ground 215 rushing yards to 23 rushing yards. Ole Miss and Oregon, however, did not win their matchup in the run game. I'm sure you know where I'm going with this...quarterback play was once again the main factor. Oregon's Dante Moore significantly outplayed Texas Tech quarterback Behren Morton.
In the Sugar Bowl, quarterback play was exceptional on both sides of the ball, but when everything was said and done, Ole Miss quarterback Trinidad Chambliss out-dueled Georgia quarterback Gunner Stockton. Chambliss finished the night 30 of 46 for 362 passing yards, two touchdown passes and had some money throws down the stretch. His performance got the job done for the Rebels and the former DII quarterback is now a household name for his performance in prime time against the Dogs.
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Next season, the Irish offense is expected to look a little different with star quarterback CJ Carr returning for his redshirt sophomore season as the starter. Compound that with the departures of Jeremiyah Love and Jadarian Price, Mike Denbrock's offense is set to look a little different than it did this past regular season. Notre Dame will still look to establish the ground game, but the offensive line will have to play a larger role in that in 2026 than in 2025, especially in the post season. Success on the ground will lead to a deep playoff run this upcoming season.
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