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Notre Dame put on blast for streaming deal, near upset loss
Fighting Irish cornerback Clarence Lewis (6) and the Notre Dame Leprechaun celebrate a victory over Toledo that might have been a PR nightmare for the school and the Peacock network. Matt Cashore-USA TODAY Sports

Notre Dame put on blast for Peacock streaming deal, poor showing vs. Toledo

Originally posted on Sportsnaut  |  By Matt Fitzgerald  |  Last updated 9/11/21

Earlier this week, Notre Dame was named the most overrated team in college football in a Twitter poll, and the Fighting Irish certainly lived up to that label in Saturday’s stunningly close call against Toledo.

Thanks to a late Jack Coan touchdown pass to star tight end Michael Mayer, the hosts escaped the disaster a loss would’ve been, squeaking by with a 32-29 nail-biter:

The AP eighth-ranked Fighting Irish not only gave their fans in South Bend a horrid viewing experience, but frustrated fans across the country had a difficult time with their decision not to televise the game on NBC. Instead, Notre Dame’s deal with fledgling streaming service Peacock forced many customers to pay to see their home opener.

As you might imagine, the combination of the Irish’s woeful effort against the Rockets and the trivial hoops fans had to jump through to gain streaming access led to plenty of hilarious reactions on social media.

It seemed conceivable that Notre Dame could get off to a slow start in Week 1, and coach Brian Kelly’s bunch definitely did in a 41-38 close escape at Florida State in the season opener. Returning home was supposed to be a big bounce-back showing in which the Irish rolled over Toledo. That’s not at all what came to pass.

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Whether it was open criticism about Peacock itself, or denying the reality of how badly the Irish played, the streaming experience was not at all what the Notre Dame faithful were anticipating.

The grievances began even before the gridiron action unfolded, as disaffected would-be watchers of the English Premier League found Peacock was straight up not working initially.

Notre Dame narrowly beats Toledo, Twitter reacts accordingly

It really was not a good look for the Irish to let Toledo nearly beat them. The College Football Playoff committee will no doubt remember Notre Dame’s sluggish start to the year, and it’s reasonable to presume the Fighting Irish will fall down the current AP rankings and coaches poll next week.

Check out some of the ways the Irish got served on the Twitterverse after their poor Week 2 performance:

This article first appeared on Sportsnaut and was syndicated with permission.

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