Marcus Freeman’s Notre Dame Fighting Irish are fresh off a 37-15 victory at No. 22 Pittsburgh last weekend. With the win, Notre Dame has won eight straight games since its 0-2 start.
Notre Dame’s losses to Miami and Texas A&M were by a combined four points to top-20 teams. With only Syracuse and Stanford remaining in the Irish’s remaining schedule, it seems that they are strongly headed back to the College Football Playoff this season.
ESPN Insider Gives Alabama and Oklahoma Edges Over Notre Dame in Week 12 College Football Playoff Rankings
The College Football Playoff committee is set to release its third of six Top 25 rankings on Tuesday evening.
In ESPN’s “SportsCenter” on Sunday, Heather Dinich shared what she believes will be the biggest question the CFP committee faces following Week 12 this season.
“How do they sort through the two lost teams now?” Dinich quipped (0:55). “And by that, I’m talking about Oklahoma, Alabama, and Notre Dame. My sense is they will honor Oklahoma’s head-to-head win at Alabama and treat them as a package deal. You take the two of them, and are they either above the Irish or below the Irish?
“I predicted they will be above the Irish because Oklahoma now has three top 25 wins in back-to-back road wins against Tennessee and Alabama. Alabama has wins against Georgia, Vandy, Missouri, and the Vols. I think when you take those two resumes, those two lost teams in that committee meeting room will have an edge over Notre Dame, which has been playing very well.”
The CFP field now includes 12 teams, with conference champions receiving automatic bids. As an independent, Freeman’s program must earn an at-large berth.
Oklahoma’s 23-21 win over Alabama on November 15 has heavily boosted their CFP standing, while Alabama’s 24-21 victory over Georgia on September 27 helped their own positioning. Some analysts believe Notre Dame’s most notable win, 34-24 over USC on October 18, doesn’t yet match the quality of Oklahoma’s win over Alabama or Alabama’s over Georgia.
However, CFP Selection Committee Chair Rhoades had high praise for the Irish’s caliber.
“The committee really likes Notre Dame as a complete team, again, defensively,” Rhoades said. “Their run game is as good as anybody, if not the best in the country, when you think about their two backs, [Jeremiyah] Love and [Jadarian] Price. Then [CJ] Carr at the quarterback spot, he’s the third-ranked quarterback in terms of passing efficiency in the country.”
Dinich placed Oklahoma at No. 8, Alabama at No. 9, and Notre Dame at No. 10 in her Week 12 playoff top 12. She reported that the Irish can be ranked higher by the committee if they remain the top two-loss team, as members tend to prioritize on-field performance over schedule strength.
Meanwhile, the latest AP Top 25 and Coaches Poll rankings were released on Sunday, placing Freeman’s program at No. 9 in both polls. In the PFSN College Football Playoff Ranking, the Irish are No. 5.