Notre Dame has no case left to make.
The Fighting Irish put all their cards on the table Saturday night in a 45-14 win over Stanford. Head coach Brian Kelly’s team now has to sit and wait for a week to see if an 11-1 record is enough to get the Irish into the College Football Playoff for the third time in the last four years.
Sunday's releases of the Coaches Poll and Associated Press Poll could give Kelly and company an indication where they'll be ranked when the penultimate CFP rankings are revealed Tuesday night.
Notre Dame dropped a spot to No. 6 in both the Associated Press and Coaches polls. Notre Dame was No. 5 in both polls last week. Oklahoma State beat Oklahoma 37-33 at home Saturday and subsequently moved past Notre Dame in both sets of rankings.
Oklahoma State could move past Notre Dame in the CFP rankings too. That would make Irish fans huge supporters of Baylor in Saturday's Big 12 Championship Game. Notre Dame would also benefit from a Michigan loss to Iowa in the Big 10 Championship Game and a Georgia victory over Alabama in the SEC Championship Game.
Notre Dame clearly does not control its own postseason destiny. Sitting with an 11-1 record at the end of the regular season with no title game to improve their standing, the Irish can only sit back and hope the outcomes during conference title week play out in their favor.
Here's a look at the AP Poll at the end of the regular season.
Week 14 College Football Associated Press Poll
1. Georgia (12-0)
2. Michigan (11-1)
3. Cincinnati (12-0)
4. Alabama (11-1)
5. Oklahoma State (11-1)
6. Notre Dame (11-1)
7. Ohio State (10-2)
8. Ole Miss (10-2)
9. Baylor (10-2)
10. Oregon (10-2)
11. Michigan State (10-2)
12. BYU (10-2)
13. Oklahoma (10-2)
14. Utah (9-3)
15. Iowa (10-2)
16. Houston (11-1)
17. Pitt (10-2)
18. Wake Forest (10-2)
19. San Diego State (11-1)
20. Louisiana (11-1)
21. NC State (9-3)
22. Clemson (9-3)
23. Arkansas (8-4)
24. Texas A&M (8-4)
25. Kentucky (9-3)
----
• Learn more about our print and digital publication, Blue & Gold Illustrated.
• Watch our videos and subscribe to our YouTube channel.
• Sign up for Blue & Gold's news alerts and daily newsletter.
• Subscribe to our podcast on Apple Podcasts.
• Follow us on Twitter: @BGINews, @MikeTSinger, @PatrickEngel_, @tbhorka, @GregLadky, and @ToddBurlage.
• Like us on Facebook.
