Where is Notre Dame in Week 12’s College Football Playoff rankings?
Moving on up.
Notre Dame is on the rise once again in the College Football Playoff rankings. The Fighting Irish (9-1) check in at No. 8 in the latest set of rankings revealed on Tuesday evening. That is up one spot from their No. 9 ranking last week.
Time is running out on the Irish to move toward a highly coveted top-four spot, but chaos could ensue among teams currently ranked above them. All Notre Dame can do is beat Georgia Tech (3-7) on Saturday and Stanford (3-7) on Nov. 27 and let the cards fall where they may.
The lowest ranking a team has had at this point in the season and still made the playoff was No. 9. So it’s not impossible for Notre Dame to continue its rise and sneak into the top four.
ESPN analyst Joey Galloway said Notre Dame is a completely different team than it was at the beginning of the year. That could persuade the committee to think of the Irish differently in the final three rankings releases.
“From midseason on, that offensive line has been great in protecting Jack Coan and running the football,” Galloway said.
No. 7 Michigan State has to play No. 4 Ohio State in Columbus this weekend. Ohio State goes on the road to play No. 6 Michigan in the final week of the regular season.
No. 1 Georgia and No. 2 Alabama will likely meet in the SEC Championship Game. Any loss for No. 5 Cincinnati would likely tumble it toward No. 10 in the rankings, possibly even behind Notre Dame even though the Bearcats beat Notre Dame in South Bend.
“That win looks more impressive each week,” CFP selection committee chairman Gary Barta said, largely citing Notre Dame’s unblemished record since then.
Even though there are only two weeks left in the regular season, there is a lot that can happen between now and the first weekend in December that can totally change Notre Dame’s outlook on the CFP.
ESPN analyst Kirk Herbstreit said a two-loss Alabama would likely be eliminated from playoff contention. That would make Notre Dame fans supporters of the red and black in the SEC title game. A two-loss Oregon would also get the boot. Irish fans should be rooting against the Ducks in every game from here on out.
Cincinnati is an interesting case. How much would the committee value the Bearcats’ win over the Irish Oct. 2 if both teams have one loss? The Bearcats are undefeated and still on the outside looking in. But if they were to lose, would they drop behind Notre Dame in the rankings? That remains to be seen.
Where does the Big 12 factor in? If No. 9 Oklahoma State wins out and only has one loss, would the Cowboys jump ahead of the Irish? Who knows. Also remains to be seen. One thing is certain: The next three weeks will be interesting for a couple handfuls of fan bases.
“There is a lot of football left to be played, and we’ll see what happens moving forward,” Barta said.
Complete Week 12 College Football Playoff Rankings
1. Georgia (10-0)
2. Alabama (9-1)
3. Oregon (9-1)
4. Ohio State (9-1)
5. Cincinnati (10-0)
6. Michigan (9-1)
7. Michigan State (9-1)
8. Notre Dame (9-1)
9. Oklahoma State (9-1)
10. Wake Forest (9-1)
11. Baylor (8-2)
12. Ole Miss (8-2)
13. Oklahoma (9-1)
14. BYU (8-2)
15. Wisconsin (7-3)
16. Teas A&M (7-3)
17. Iowa (8-2)
18. Pitt (8-2)
19. San Diego State (9-1)
20. North Carolina State (7-3)
21. Arkansas (7-3)
22. UTSA (10-0)
23. Utah (7-3)
24. Houston (9-1)
25. Mississippi State (6-4)
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