Notre Dame barely missed the College Football Playoff this season and now there are whispers around college football that maybe the Irish would have benefitted had they joined a conference like the ACC.

Last year, when the Fighting Irish became part of that conference, they made the College Football Playoff. This year, they were left out.

Some college football analysts have even said the reason former coach Brian Kelly bolted to the SEC and LSU was because he now has a better chance of making the Playoff and winning the title.

When asked if Notre Dame should join the ACC, commissioner Jim Phillips said this:

“Notre Dame got a chance to see what the ACC was all about last year. … I’ll leave it at that,” he said. “I think it was a mutually beneficial relationship.”

Despite losing to Clemson in the ACC Championship Game last year, the Irish still grabbed the last spot in the Playoff mainly because they had beaten the Tigers earlier in the season.

The luck of the Irish ran out this year.