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By Jordan Sigler
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Much has been made in recent weeks about Notre Dame joining a conference as the 7-2 program ascends the College Football Playoff Rankings.
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The No. 9 Fighting Irish are set to travel to play No. 22 Pittsburgh on Saturday, the toughest game remaining on Notre Dame's schedule for the remainder of the regular season.
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Last week, Texas Tech head coach Joey McGuire took a shot at Notre Dame for being in a conference, suggesting BYU was doing things the right way by giving up its independence to join the Big 12 in 2023.
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Earlier this week, Pittsburgh head coach Pat Narduzzi made a bizarre comment, arguing that the upcoming contest against the Irish didn't mean much because it wasn't a conference matchup.
"Absolutely not. It is not an ACC game," Narduzzi said. "... I’d gladly get beat 103 or 110 to 10... They could put 100 up on us as long as we win the next two after that.”
Amid such chatter, the ACC raised eyebrows on Monday when they submitted a post on X comparing Miami to Notre Dame. The post is currently pinned on the ACC's social media profile.
What makes the post even more odd is that the Irish and ACC have an agreement for ND to play five conference opponents each year. Notre Dame joined the ACC for the 2020 season.
Pete Sampson of The Athletic suggested that the ACC could be laying the groundwork for officials to give preference to its conference teams over Notre Dame for close calls, hoping to boost the chances that its teams make the CFP over the Irish.
"What made the ACC tweet about Notre Dame different isn’t so much that the league and the school are partners; it’s that Notre Dame is obligated to use ACC officials during the final three games of the season, and the league basically said the Irish should be taken down a few pegs in the coming weeks (or Miami should be boosted up)," Sampson wrote.
"The ACC could have made its point without making Notre Dame wonder if it’s going to get a fair whistle these next three weeks. At the very least, the ACC just made the jobs of its own officials a lot harder. And they’re already struggling."
The Irish have been on the short end of the stick a few times with questionable calls against ACC teams already this season.
Officials upheld a catch by NC State wide receiver Terrell Anderson that clearly touched the ground during the Irish's 36-7 win over the Wolfpack on Oct. 11.
Following ND's contest against Pittsburgh, the Irish will host 3-7 Syracuse on Nov. 22 before traveling to play 3-7 Stanford on Nov. 29.
It'll be worth keeping an eye on how ACC officials call those games.
The ACC might have a point to feel aggrieved by the CFP rankings.
7-2 Miami is the top-ranked ACC team at No. 15 despite beating the Irish 27-24 in Week 1 (though the Hurricanes have a loss to an unranked opponent). 8-1 Georgia Tech is ranked No. 16.
For more on the NCAA, head to Newsweek Sports.
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