Following the withdrawal of the Marcus Freeman-led Notre Dame from bowl consideration, analyst Paul Finebaum has torn into the Fighting Irish brand. The program withdrew from bowl consideration on Sunday after missing out on the playoff by just a spot.In a statement released on social media, the team wrote:“As a team, we’ve decided to withdraw our name from consideration for a bowl game following the 2025 season. We appreciate all the support from our families and fans, and we’re hoping to bring the 12th national title to South Bend in 2026.”A lot of people have tried to make sense of Notre Dame’s final exclusion from the playoff, with many concluding that they need conference alignment. Finebaum, sharing his reaction on Monday’s episode of First Take, said the Notre Dame brand isn’t just as strong as the school thinks it is. He said:“Notre Dame makes all that money off that NBC contract, but does anybody watch these games? No. The problem is they think they’re great, but they’re not. They’re not the draw they used to be. That has nothing to do with the playoff. It just has to do with the fact that their brand—as good as they say they are—isn’t as good as the SEC brand or the Big Ten brand.”Five SEC teams made the playoff, including Alabama, which had a three-loss season. The Irish, who ranked in the top 10 of every CFP ranking except the final, finished 10-2 on the season, similar to Oklahoma and Miami.Did Notre Dame miss out because of conference alignment?While, according to analysis, the Irish could have made the playoff if it was in the ACC, conference alignment did not account for so much. After all, the team made the playoff last year without the much-touted conference alignment.Ultimately, Notre Dame is just like any other team that deserved to be in the playoff but is not. And the reason shouldn’t be far-fetched. The 12-team bracket can only take so many teams. There are already debates for the expansion of the playoff bracket to 16 teams and a more open process devoid of a committee.What the acceptance would be for any of these developments is not certain yet. But one can be sure about one thing: they will not guarantee a system where everyone is absolutely satisfied. The best the Irish and other disgruntled teams like Vanderbilt can do is prepare to have an even better season next fall.