Notre Dame: How the Irish could make the playoff
By Ian Blum
It was only months ago that Coach Brian Kelly was on the hot seat. Irish fans were expecting major turnover following the 2017 season. Now in October, the Irish could find themselves in the top 4 at years end.
Nobody expected Notre Dame to beat the breaks off USC the way they did on Saturday. It was a big win in more ways than one for the Irish. Now ranked 9th in the AP Poll, the odds of them clinching their first College Football Playoff appearance is not out of the question.
The first big thing going for them is the fact they dominated in the games they have won. Without a conference championship game, the Irish making statements consistently will be big in order for them to keep pace in the polls.
Saturday will be another chance for a statement win. NC State is currently ranked 14th in this week’s AP Poll and has a tough defense. They are by no means a contender in the ACC, but they are the perfect team to derail the Irish’s playoff dreams. Do not be surprised to see a close game between the Irish and Wolfpack this week.
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Further along, we see that the Irish will have a top 10 meeting with the “U” of Miami. This is an interesting game because we still don’t know a lot about the Canes. They have a good defense, but average at best play from their quarterback Malik Rosier has forced them to pull off miracles versus Florida State and Georgia Tech. It is in Notre Dame’s best interest that Miami win their games versus North Carolina and Virginia Tech. If Notre Dame wins a road game versus a top 10 Miami team it will help force the hand of the playoff committee.
Assuming they get past NC State, Miami, and Navy without losing then the fate of their season will likely come down to the last game of the year. On November 25th the Irish will take a trip to Stanford to play the Cardinal’s. Stanford is likely to move up in the poll at this point. One last big road win versus a ranked opponent could all but seal Notre Dame’s playoff spot.
At 11-1, with the only loss being by a point to the currently 3rd ranked Georgia Bulldogs is not too shabby. However, they will still need some help. The Big 12 is a TCU loss away from being out of the playoff. Unless Oklahoma and Oklahoma State both suffered losses. OU falling to Iowa State plays into the hands of Notre Dame. However, OSU losing to TCU means that the Cowboys aren’t totally out of it until TCU suffers a loss.
Chaos in the Big Ten would help. If Ohio State beats Penn State on Saturday then dropped the Big Ten Championship to Wisconsin, the Irish could get in over Wisconsin because of the wins Notre Dame would have had as noted earlier.
The best case scenario for Notre Dame to win out and Georgia to win the SEC East. Alabama will win the West. If Georgia plays Alabama for the SEC Championship then one of two things will happen. Either the Irish lost to the team that only has one loss, which came versus the best team in the country, or they lost to the team who beat the best team in the country.
As we know the conversation gets very complicated very quickly. Notre Dame is a wildcard as an independent. It will be interesting to see what the committee would do with Notre Dame at years end. Will they value a one-loss Notre Dame over a one-loss Big 12 Champion? What about a one loss or even two loss Big Ten Champion? The committee will be offered their greatest challenge yet if Notre Dame can run the table.
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Things will become clearer as the season continues to unfold. Norte Dame could provide the next layer of chaos into the already extremely chaotic world of the College Football Playoff.