GRAPEVINE, Texas — Before the next stage of voting, the committee chairman delivered a message to the room. “Reminder,” announced Brett McMurphy, “Notre Dame has no conference losses.”
A collective chortle came from the other 12 media members participating last week in a CFP mock committee meeting in a plush resort in suburban Dallas. McMurphy, the former ESPN reporter now with Stadium Network who acted as chair of the mock committee, smiled as he landed his well-timed joke, a few seconds before the committee rounded out the final 10 spots of its top 25 from a pool of about 15 teams—one of which included the Irish.