Utah Gov. Spencer Cox (R) poked fun at Notre Dame for opting out of a bowl game Sunday.
The Pop-Tarts Bowl, set for Dec. 27, reportedly invited the 10-2 Fighting Irish and 11-2 BYU to compete. Notre Dame, though, passed on the opportunity after it was not selected to compete in the College Football Playoff (CFP).
“This is absolutely the right move,” Cox said on X. “Getting embarrassed in a bowl game against BYU would be really hard on the program.
“Much smarter to avoid playing tough teams so you can keep your brand intact.”
Cox, responding to popular X user @3YearLetterman, added that there are “waterbed financing specials all weekend in South Bend,” a …
Utah Gov. Spencer Cox (R) poked fun at Notre Dame for opting out of a bowl game Sunday.
The Pop-Tarts Bowl, set for Dec. 27, reportedly invited the 10-2 Fighting Irish and 11-2 BYU to compete. Notre Dame, though, passed on the opportunity after it was not selected to compete in the College Football Playoff (CFP).
“This is absolutely the right move,” Cox said on X. “Getting embarrassed in a bowl game against BYU would be really hard on the program.
“Much smarter to avoid playing tough teams so you can keep your brand intact.”
Cox, responding to popular X user @3YearLetterman, added that there are “waterbed financing specials all weekend in South Bend,” a play on one of the parody account’s frequently-used jokes.
The Fighting Irish, slotted 10th in the penultimate CFP rankings, dropped one spot in the final edition on Sunday despite not playing on conference championship weekend.
The CFP committee instead selected Miami, which beat Notre Dame 27-24 over Labor Day weekend, as the final at-large team. The Hurricanes were two spots behind the Fighting Irish in the penultimate rankings.
Notre Dame responded by withdrawing its name from bowl consideration. In a post on X, the team said it looks forward to chasing a national title next season.
The Fighting Irish, last year’s national runner-up to Ohio State, have not won it all since the Reagan administration.
Meanwhile, Vanderbilt head coach Clark Lea, whose team also finished 10-2 and ahead of Notre Dame in multiple metrics, said Sunday that the Commodores never discussed opting out of its ReliaQuest Bowl matchup against Iowa.
“We had our opportunities and we didn’t do enough,” Lea told reporters. “We are not victims in this process. Our ownership is in coming up short.”
BYU, which lost to fourth-ranked Texas Tech in the Big 12 title game on Saturday, will now face off against 9-3 Georgia Tech in the Pop-Tarts Bowl.
You heard that right. The Cougars and Yellow Jackets will take part in a game featuring, if you can believe this, a Pop-Tart mascot.
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