Jeremiyah Love Gives Honest Take on Notre Dame Joining a Conference After Controversial CFP Snub

Former Notre Dame running back Jeremiyah Love urged the Fighting Irish to remain independent despite getting snubbed from the 2026 College Football Playoff bracket.

"We keep the power to ourselves. We have the power to play anybody we want to play," Love said around the 0:45 mark of a "10 Burning Questions" video shared Tuesday by Sports Illustrated. "In a conference, you've got to play within your conference."

Love continued, "Last year, we got snubbed. We put ourselves in that position— we lost two games. But Notre Dame should stay independent."

Notre Dame coach Marcus Freeman provided a similar answer when asked whether his program has held conversations about potentially joining a conference on a Tuesday episode of the Bussin' with the Boys podcast.

"There's advantages to being in a conference, and there's advantages to not being in a conference," Freeman answered around the 2:40:20 mark of the podcast. "There's a lot of positive things that, trust me, nobody was complaining about when we made the playoffs the year before. The independence, we look at is as a positive.

"Listen, we lost two games and we didn't make the playoffs. So, if our administration ever feels like we are truly at a competitive disadvantage by not being in a conference, I'm sure that we'll join a conference. But we just— we shouldn't have lost two games. It's as simple as that."

Even early in the offseason, Notre Dame's returning players are focused on bouncing back from last year's 0-2 start. Cornerback Leonard Moore said earlier this month Notre Dame is heading into the 2026 season on a "revenge tour," per ESPN's Heather Dinich.

The Fighting Irish will have to make that push without Love, who is ranked as the No. 2 overall prospect in the 2026 NFL draft on Bleacher Report's latest big board. He could potentially become the first top-five pick at running back since Saquon Barkley in 2018 when the draft kicks off April 23 in Pittsburgh.