‘A disgrace’ to ‘Boo freaking hoo’: Sportsbooks react to Notre Dame CFP snub

Notre Dame was a heavy betting favorite to make the College Football Playoff minutes before it was snubbed on Sunday’s selection show.

The decision to leave the Fighting Irish out of the 12-team field shocked many, including a Caesars Sportsbook bettor who wagered $50,000 to win $4,166 Sunday morning on Notre Dame to make the CFP at -1200.

They lost the bet when Miami (Fla.) moved ahead of the Irish in the final rankings to fill the final at-large berth despite neither team playing on conference championship weekend.

“Needless to say, given the price we were offering just 10 minutes before the selection show, it caught us off guard,” Caesars head of football Joey Feazel said in an email. “With neither Notre Dame nor Miami playing this week, the committee’s shift in rankings for both teams was especially surprising.”

The Hurricanes beat the Irish 27-24 in their Aug. 31 season opener in Miami, but they hadn’t been ranked ahead of Notre Dame until Sunday.

The Irish had been ranked in the top 10 of every CFP rankings before the final rankings, when they were slotted No. 11 and the first team out.

“They need to stop doing that show because apparently that rankings show is totally meaningless,” Westgate vice president of race and sports John Murray said.

‘Boo freaking hoo’

Las Vegas bookmakers had mixed reactions to the snub of Notre Dame, which entered Sunday as the third favorite at the SuperBook to win the national title and would’ve been favored in most CFP matchups.

“This team had a real chance to win a national championship. That’s the thing that’s been lost in all this,” Murray said. “Notre Dame could’ve actually won the tournament. For them not to be in it is a disgrace.”

Boomer’s Sportsbook director of trading Nick Bogdanovich said the Irish — who lost last season’s national title game to Ohio State and have won 10 straight games by 10 points or more — are definitely one of his top 12 college football teams.

“But that doesn’t mean they should’ve been in because there are all sorts of rules and parameters,” he said. “But if you’re looking for the top 12 teams, they definitely would’ve been in it.”

Red Rock Resort sportsbook director Chuck Esposito was baffled how the Hurricanes leapfrogged the Irish at the end.

“I don’t get if Notre Dame was ahead of Miami going into the week, and they both didn’t play, how Notre Dame gets bumped,” he said. “It’s a bit of a head scratcher.”

South Point sportsbook director Chris Andrews didn’t express any sympathy for the Irish.

“Poor Notre Dame,” he posted on X (@andrewssports). “They’ve had every break since the days of Knute Rockne and they finally had a call go against them. Boo freaking hoo.”

‘Too convoluted’

James Madison and Tulane made the CFP as Group of 5 champions as the field is comprised of the five highest-ranked conference champions and seven at-large teams.

The No. 12 Dukes are 21-point underdogs at No. 5 Oregon in their first-round game and the No. 11 Green Wave are 17-point underdogs at No. 6 Ole Miss in their first-round game.

The Ole Miss-Tulane matchup is a rematch of a game the Rebels won 45-10 in September.

“That’s a playoff game and there’s no room in this tournament for Notre Dame?” Murray said. “I get the Miami head-to-head argument. I think it’s a fair argument. But any way you slice it, if Notre Dame is not in this thing, the format is not correct. It’s too convoluted. It’s absolutely ridiculous.”

“To let in these teams that are three-touchdown and 17-point underdogs whose coaches aren’t even going to be with the school anymore after the game, it’s ludicrous.

“I know people go ballistic when you say this stuff, but yeah, the sportsbook wishes that game was Notre Dame versus Texas instead of Ole Miss versus Tulane. We would do way more business on it, the TV ratings would be way better and those are just better teams.”

Feazel also would like to see the criteria change.

“While I appreciate the excitement of having a Cinderella-type, non-Power 4 school in the mix, it doesn’t always create the best matchups,” he said. “Personally, I’d prefer to see the top 12 teams selected based purely on merit.

“If a non-Power 4 team earns a spot under those criteria, it would make their inclusion even more meaningful.”

Contact reporter Todd Dewey at tdewey@reviewjournal.com. Follow @tdewey33 on X.