Reaction: Notre Dame opens 10th in the College Football Playoff rankings
Notre Dame received the initial diagnosis of its College Football Playoff path Tuesday night.
It’s a narrow one, even though the committee gave the Irish a top-25 win.
Notre Dame (7-1) is the No. 10 team in the first CFP rankings, which were unveiled Tuesday night. It’s behind No. 9 Wake Forest (8-0) and No. 8 Oklahoma (8-0), and one spot above 7-1 Big 12 teams Oklahoma State (No. 11) and Baylor (No. 12).
The Fighting Irish have a top-25 win and a top-10 loss. Wisconsin, which Notre Dame beat 41-13 Sept. 25, is the No. 21 team in the rankings. The loss is to No. 6 Cincinnati, which won 24-13 at Notre Dame Stadium Oct. 2.
“Notre Dame has a tough schedule,” committee chairman Gary Barta said. “Week in and week out, they’re up against strong opponents. Probably their signature win is over Wisconsin, and even though Wisconsin was referenced earlier [because of] losses, it’s a very good football team. That win was well thought of by the committee.”
Notre Dame is the fifth-highest ranked of seven one-loss Power Five teams.
“Once you get to the point where you’re comparing three or four teams with one loss with similar schedules, you can go a lot of different ways,” Barta said.
A No. 10 initial ranking isn’t a death sentence for playoff hopes. Two teams have reached the playoff with lower starting points – 2014 Ohio State was 16th in the initial rankings, and 2015 Oklahoma was 15th.
The Irish’s problem, though, could be their ceiling. They’re No. 10 with Wisconsin already ranked and providing a résumé boost. Three of their next four games are against teams that currently have losing records. Opportunity to add to the résumé is limited.
Without upcoming chances for impactful wins, Notre Dame will need some help and must win out to get in the thick of the discussion. Losses by Wake Forest, Oklahoma, Michigan and Cincinnati would be the first step. Ohio State and Oregon taking a second loss would help even more. Notre Dame also has a common opponent with the Ducks – Stanford – and a convincing win vs. the Cardinal would help even more.
All told, Notre Dame is rooting for chaos.
CFP top 25 rankings
1. Georgia (8-0)
2. Alabama (7-1)
3. Michigan State (8-0)
4. Oregon (7-1)
5. Ohio State (7-1)
6. Cincinnati (8-0)
7. Michigan (7-1)
8. Oklahoma (9-0)
9. Wake Forest (8-0)
10. Notre Dame (7-1)
11. Oklahoma State (7-1)
12. Baylor (7-1)
13. Auburn (6-2)
14. Texas A&M (6-2)
15. BYU (7-2)
16. Mississippi (6-2)
17. Mississippi State (5-3)
18. Kentucky (6-2)
19. North Carolina State (6-2)
20. Minnesota (6-2)
21. Wisconsin (5-3)
22. Iowa (6-2)
23. Fresno State (7-2)
24. San Diego State (7-1)
25. Pittsburgh (6-2)
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