Notre Dame took a 10-spot slide in both the Associated Press and Coaches polls Sunday and fell out of the FWAA-NFF Super 16.
The perception of the long-term direction of the program took a bigger hit this weekend, in a 31-23 loss at Clemson on Saturday, nudging the now 22nd-ranked Irish into a bye week with a 7-3 record and some tough questions to ponder.
What happens Tuesday, when the second set of College Football Playoff rankings are released (7 p.m. EST; ESPN) is now completely irrelevant as the selection committee’s perception only affects which teams get into the final four-team playoff and the four other New Year’s Six bowls.
Saturday’s setback to an unranked Clemson team takes the Irish out of consideration for any NY6 consideration, with only Wake Forest (4-5) at home and Stanford (3-6) on the road left to play.
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ND’s best-case postseason scenarios would start with a berth in the ReliaQuest Bowl in Tampa, Fla., on Jan. 1 against an SEC team. The Pop-Tarts bowl in Orlando, Fla,, on Dec. 28 against a Big 12 team is very much in play as well.
Those bowls are free to select Notre Dame over the remaining pool of ACC teams, provided the Irish have no more than one loss than any team they are selected ahead of.
Right now, Florida State (9-0) projects as a playoff team, and Louisville (8-1) is on a trajectory to end up in the Orange Bowl, a New Year’s Six game. North Carolina (7-2) is the only other ACC team with fewer than three losses.
What team will help fill its stadium and get viewers to turn on their TVs and to stream are not criteria for the top six bowls but are for everyone else in choosing teams within the conference-tie structure. And the Irish are part of the ACC Bowl package with the exception of the NY6 Orange Bowl.
After 10 seasons of a four-team format, the College Football Playoff expands to 12 teams in the 2024 season.
FWAA-PFF Super 16 poll
AP and Coaches polls
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