Stop me if you’ve heard this before: Notre Dame got embarrassed on the national stage.

The Irish were throttled by Clemson 30-3 in Saturday’s Cotton Bowl College Football Playoff semifinal matchup. The Irish didn’t look like they belonged on the same field as the Tigers.

Remember, the selection committee has a big human element to it, and humans can’t help but be persuaded by what they see. And what they’ve seen is now two Notre Dame teams (2018 and 2012) get embarrassed on the biggest stage. However, Notre Dame AD Jack Swarbrick said he doesn’t think the loss will hurt the Irish’s future Playoff chances.

“No,” Swabrick told ESPN. “No, I don’t think it will.”

The Irish were the butt of the joke on social media. Even Georgia players were calling out the Playoff selection committee.

ACC Commissioner John Swofford went to bat for the Irish, saying they might have just had a bad day.

“I think you look at it from the perspective of, Were the right things considered at the time?” Swofford told ESPN. “You make that selection based on the information they have at hand when they make it — not after the semifinal games. So a lot of things can happen in a game, and if a team doesn’t show well, it doesn’t necessarily mean they didn’t deserve to be here. They might’ve just had a bad day.”

A bad day indeed. That was gross.

Still independent, should Notre Dame join a conference before 2036, it would have to be the ACC. The Irish currently play five ACC games per year.