Under Marcus Freeman, Notre Dame has lost at home against the likes of Marshall, Northern Illinois and Stanford. He's only been a head coach for three years and, largely due to Notre Dame's status as an independent,

Notre Dame and Ohio State entered the College Football Playoff as the No. 7 and No. 8 seeded teams. Neither won a conference; heck, Notre Dame isn't in a conference to win. Ohio State's loss to Michigan on November 30th knocked them out of the Big Ten title game.

This Big Ten vs. independent matchup means this is the second straight year that the Southeastern Conference will be shut out of the final.