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Stanford 38, Notre Dame 36 Instant Analysis

That really was amazing

Follow, Contact @PeteFiutak

Strip away the periphery.

Forgetting the playoff implications, the Heisman spotlight, and that it was Notre Dame on the big stage, this was simply a phenomenal college football game that’ll go down as a classic.

But, yeah, part of the reason it was so special was because of what it all meant.

Should Stanford have gone for two after its touchdown early in the fourth? (I got into a twitter war on that one.) Should David Shaw have used his timeouts? (That was a fight, too.) Was DeShone Kizer down before getting into the end zone? (Really? There’s no good goal line cam in 2015?)

Could anything have been done differently on either side?

Not really. It was a beaten, battered and bruised Notre Dame team that played its tail off, with Kizer making a huge statement for down the road with what should’ve been a game-winning touchdown drive, and then it was Kevin Hogan coming up with his signature drive and his signature pass, getting Conrad Okropina into a position to nail his 45-yard attempt right down the middle.

Both teams played at a high level, the Irish running game was great, Hogan and the Cardinal passing game was terrific, and it was terrific theater from start to finish.

But, of course, that was because of the playoff implications.

Stanford won a big one for Pac-12 pride, but Notre Dame will have to suffer with what might have been with brutally close losses to Clemson and now to the Cardinal.

It was a special game at the end of a special regular season for both programs.

Thanks, Notre Dame and Stanford.

Barring upsets in Atlanta or Charlotte, the final playoff release will be light on suspense

E-mail Rich Cirminiello
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If Notre Dame-Stanford wasn’t the most entertaining game of 2015, it’s in the discussion. Amazing matchup, with the seesaw tempo, high stakes and memorable finish that fits a rivalry getting better and better over time. But what fans gained in pure college football enjoyment tonight, they might sacrifice next Sunday afternoon when the final rankings are revealed.

Even at No. 6, the Irish were potential flies in the final four ointment. A win on the Farm would have resonated loudly to the committee, especially if the Cardinal went on to capture the Pac-12 title next weekend in Santa Clara. But senior PK Conrad Ukropina ended all speculation involving ND, when he drilled a walk-off 45-yarder to cap off a remarkably swift 30-second drive down the field.

If you’re the kind of fan who craves chaos, familiarize yourself with the two-deeps of Florida and North Carolina. Because if the Gators or the Heels don’t upset Bama or Clemson on Saturday, the picture is clear—the four teams in the playoff will be the Tide, the Tigers, Oklahoma and the winner of Michigan State-Iowa in the Big Ten title game. Sorry, no mad dashes into the quartet, like Ohio State last December.

A couple of quick other thoughts: Phenomenal job this year by Brian Kelly, who endured a slew of injuries, yet lost just two games by two points to top 10 teams … on the road. However, it’ll be a while before he and defensive coordinator Brian VanGorder get over allowing Stanford to get into field goal position in such a short period of time.

On the Stanford side, it was a particularly great win for QB Kevin Hogan, who’s had his share of career ups-and-downs, yet really delivered in a big way in his home finale. Christian McCaffrey? Elite player who’ll be invited to New York City, but the Heisman Trophy belongs to Bama’s Derrick Henry this year. Just another spoiler alert to digest.

Final side note: I was all ready to vilify David Shaw for not using his timeouts when the Irish milked the clock on their final drive, but Hogan and Ukropina bailed him out. While it’s still poor clock management to leave your team with 30 seconds, it’s about the last thing anyone will remember about this thriller.

And the exhale

E-mail Phil Harrison
Follow me … @PhilHarrisonCFB

That sigh of relief you just heard was the collective exhale from the College Football Playoff committee meeting room.

Notre Dame had a chance to be the wild card in the race, but that’s gone.

Here’s what you would’ve had had the Irish held on.

The CFP committee has not only gone on record, but has shown that it puts great value on winning a conference championship. Well, we all know that Notre Dame is an independent and can’t win a conference.

And while that wouldn’t be that big of a deal if we were staring at an undefeated Irish squad, we weren’t. Instead, you had the potential of a one-loss Notre Dame team in what is already a crowded one-loss room. There are only four spots for five power-five conferences already, so one conference champion — likely the Pac-12 — is already going to be on the outside looking in.

So what other conference do you throw out like last week’s trash if you give Notre Dame the nod? In the Big Ten, you are either going to have a one-loss or undefeated conference champion, in the SEC, as long as Alabama takes care of business, you have to figure it’s in, and then we have the Big 12.

Oh yes, the Big freakin’ 12. The conference that already has its undies in a bunch from being overlooked last year. Though there’s still not a conference championship game, you have to think a one-loss Sooner team has earned a spot by way of an outright title in the regular season. We might have been staring at the real-world potential of the Big 12 being left out again.

Of course the alternative would have been to sweep the Golden Domers under the rug, and that wouldn’t have gone over well either because the only loss was to a No. 1 Clemson team by two measly points. And what about Ohio State who sits with one-loss, and who just blasted a top ten Michigan team at its place of worship?

This thing could have gotten really hairy had Notre Dame been able to finish the deal, and it still might. Queue up the calls for an eight-team playoff like … yesterday.