Notre Dame is still smarting from being left out of the College Football Playoff, but there are plenty of people who have little sympathy for the school.
On Monday, Texas Tech head coach Joey McGuire had some pretty blunt advice for the Fighting Irish after they were snubbed for the CFP in favor of Miami.
“I’m gonna make Notre Dame mad, but be in a conference and you’re in the playoffs,” McGuire said. “[If] they’re in the ACC, they’re in the playoffs. ... I’m just talking about, let’s make it, across the board that everybody is measured the same.”
"I don't wanna make Notre Dame mad, but, be in a conference and you're in the playoffs."
— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) December 22, 2025
Joey McGuire shares his thoughts on the structure of the CFP. pic.twitter.com/EJYvnUopdQ
He’s not wrong.
Notre Dame’s status as an independent institution works in the school's favor regarding its TV deal and scheduling freedom. That said, the Irish get dinged for not facing the week-in, week-out grind of a conference.
Mass realignment threatens to leave Notre Dame behind if it continues to remain independent. Most of the college football world has been thinking that for a while, McGuire just said it out loud.
Joey McGuire’s record at Texas Tech
McGuire is in his fourth season at Texas Tech and has the Red Raiders at 12–1 and ranked No. 4 in the country. Their only loss came at Arizona State on October 18, and they cruised to a Big 12 title the rest of the way, including a 34–7 thumping of BYU in the conference title game.
Overall, McGuire is 35–17 and 24–12 in the Big 12 during his time at Texas Tech. He started 8–5 in his first season back in 2022, dropped to 7–6 in ’23, and returned to 8–5 in ’24. His team took off this season with an excellent campaign that now has them in the Orange Bowl, preparing to face No. 5 Oregon.
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McGuire was a legendary high school coach, as he led Cedar Hill in Texas to a 141–42 record from 2003 through ‘16. The Longhorns won three state titles on McGuire’s watch and seven district championships. He was hired as the tight ends coach at Baylor under Matt Rhule in 2017, before switching to the defensive side and associate head coach in 2019, and was retained by Dave Aranda in 2020.
Texas Tech hired McGuire on November 6, 2021.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Texas Tech Coach Has Pointed Advice for Notre Dame After CFP Snub.