The Notre Dame Fighting Irish are heading to the National Championship in Atlanta, GA, on January 20th in Mercedez Benz Stadium. The Fighting Irish, a team that beat Penn State, Georgia, and Indiana, is going to the National Championship.
That should be music to Hoosier fan's ears right now.
When Indiana lost to Notre Dame in the first round of the College Football Playoff, the Hoosiers received so much flack from everyone in the college football world about how they didn't belong in the playoff, from fans to coaches to even analysts like Kirk Herbstreit.
With Notre Dame making it to the National Championship, Indiana is now in the same breath as teams like Penn State and Georgia because they lost to the Fighting Irish just like Indiana did. Granted, Penn State lost by a game-winning field goal, but Georgia lost by 13 points, while Indiana made a push at the end to only lose by 10 points.
Indiana had one of its most successful seasons, if not their most successful season in program history, going 11-1 in the regular season and finishing the year 11-2 after the loss to Notre Dame in the first round. The Hoosier's only loss during the regular season was against Ohio State, one of the teams playing tonight in the Cotton Bowl against Texas.
So let's get this straight: if Ohio State wins tonight, the two teams in the National Championship would be the only two teams that Indiana lost to throughout the season. That doesn't really seem like a team that doesn't belong. That seems like a team that lost to really good football teams.
So the next time someone tries to say that Indiana didn't belong or doesn't belong with the big schools in college football, just give them a little reminder that Indiana lost to some really good teams. Maybe if the Hoosiers had a different path in the College Football Playoff, things would have been different for the Hoosiers, but that is something that will never be known.