Snubbed by the College Football Playoff, Notre Dame snubbed its nose at a second-tier bowl game.

The ninth-ranked Fighting Irish responded to getting dropped in the CFP rankings for the second consecutive week by turning down an invitation to play in the Pop-Tarts Bowl in Orlando, Florida.

“Overwhelming shock and sadness,” Notre Dame athletic director Pete Bevacqua told Yahoo Sports. “Like a collective feeling that we were all just punched in the stomach.”

Although boycotting a bowl might be the exact reaction that many Notre Dame fans wanted, it can’t help the long-term viability of non-playoff bowl games.

The decision also denies Notre Dame’s seniors a chance for one final game, denies underclassmen from a few extra weeks of practice and denies a legion of fans — is there a bigge

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