Did Ohio State, Notre Dame benefit from sneaky bye before CFP?

With Notre Dame and Ohio State advancing to play in the 2025 College Football Playoff championship game on Monday night, could the two traditional powers have benefitted from a very untraditional bye?

Neither the Fighting Irish nor the Buckeyes played in a conference championship game before the CFP began, giving both teams an extra breather while awaiting to see which teams they would draw in their first playoff games. Both teams earned home games in that opening round, posting sizable wins on their march to Atlanta and the championship game.

Notre Dame plays football as an independent and their new athletic director, Pete Bevacqua, emphasized this week that playing in a conference and having to go through a conference title game wasn’t worth giving up their independent status any time soon. The Fighting Irish played their final regular-season game on Nov. 30 and then had until Dec. 20 (their first-round game against Indiana) to rest and prepare for the CFP grind.

Meanwhile, on the other side, Ohio State was knocked out of the Big Ten championship game with a loss to arch-rival Michigan in the regular-season finale. At the time, the loss was a gut punch for the Buckeyes. However, running back Quinshon Judkins said the loss (and sitting out the league title game) provided “a spark” for the Buckeyes heading into CFP play.

That loss on Nov. 30 likely provided plenty of fuel for the Buckeyes until they met Tennessee in the first round on Dec. 21.

Both the Fighting Irish and the Buckeyes had roughly three weeks off before starting the playoffs. While some might worry about losing rhythm with that long of a layoff, these two teams have shown that that span gave them time to rest, recuperate from the long season, and focus on winning the sport’s ultimate prize.

So while the CFP’s top four seeds were all involved in conference title games (and earning those first-round byes), all four of those teams (Arizona State, Boise State, Georgia and Oregon) lost in their opening matchups.

There is no exact science when it comes to the CFP, and a matchup between two institutions with rich histories when it comes to national championships is a perfect pairing for the NCAA in this first year of the 12-team bracket. And, of the many lessons learned from this year’s inaugural bracket set-up, one may be that conference championship games may be more detrimental than helpful with an arduous December and January CFP schedule ahead.