CFP chair Gary Barta weighs in on how committee will evaluate Notre Dame after Marcus Freeman hire

CFP chair Gary Barta made some interesting comments about the Notre Dame Fighting Irish recently, saying that Brian Kelly’s decision to leave for LSU could be a factor in whether or not the Irish make it to the College Football Playoff.

But, after the Irish promoted DC Marcus Freeman to head coach and retained some other key assistants, Barta has changed his tone.

Per ESPN’s Heather Dinich, Barta and the CFP committee will no longer consider the coaching situation when it comes to the Irish:

Committee chair Gary Barta told me earlier today that the coaching situation at ND has become a nonfactor in the evaluation of the Irish. They talked about it last night, and the continuity there w/ Freeman and retaining staff makes it moot in discussion.

— Heather Dinich (@CFBHeather) December 4, 2021

Of course, at No. 6 in the most-recent CFP rankings, the Irish still need some help to make the field of 4 teams.

We’ll see if there’s enough chaos to get this team to the Playoff, or if a New Year’s 6 bowl game is in its future, instead.