Desmond Howard, Paul Finebaum discuss Notre Dame's College Football Playoff chances with win vs. Texas A&M
ESPN’s College GameDay will be taking a trip to College Station for an electric Week 1 matchup between two teams entering the season ranked in the Top 25, Notre Dame and Texas A&M.
Week 1 may seem like the most low-stakes weekend in the big picture of the College Football Playoff several months down the road, but for the Fighting Irish the stakes couldn’t be higher. Faced with a potentially must-win opener if they want to be one of 12 teams to advance to the expanded postseason field.
College football analysts Desmond Howard and Paul Finebaum joined Get Up on Tuesday morning and were asked by host Mike Greenberg if a Week 1 win for No. 7 ranked Notre Dame solidifies them a spot in the College Football Playoff.
“You see that Paul Finebaum, he chuckled too, because he knows true,” Howard said. “I mean, you look at their schedule, I don’t know if they have the graphic, but they have a relatively light schedule after this Texas A&M game.”
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“You would think that maybe the Florida State game would have been a tough game, but after they lost the Georgia Tech, that doesn’t look like it’s going to be much of a challenge,” he added. “Maybe October 19 going up against Georgia Tech, but besides this Texas A&M game, they have a relatively light schedule.”
Aside from the Aggies, Florida State and USC are the only ranked preseason teams the Fighting Irish will face this season. Facing five programs with .500 or worse records last season as one of the few independent programs remaining in college football with a schedule that definitely lacks some excitement.
“And don’t forget, they don’t have a conference championship game either. This is their season. All they need to do is win these games starting Saturday, and they’re in the driver’s seat,” Howard said. “Now Texas A&M, they’re 20th in the nation right now. We don’t know how good they’re going to be this season, this may be a signature win or it may be just another win depending on how the Aggies’ season goes after Saturday. But yeah, you look at Notre Dame’s schedule, they win Saturday you can just go ahead and write them in ink in the College Football Playoff.”
A win on Saturday for Notre Dame significantly increases their likelihood of staying firmly in the top 12 and eventually advancing to the College Football Playoff. But Finebaum doesn’t believe that the Fighting Irish ticket to the postseason this weekend will be an easy one to earn.
“Desmond is right about what he said, but here’s the problem, I don’t think they’re going to win the game,” Finebaum said. “It’s not so much that they’re on the road, they’re on the road at Kyle Field, Greeny. Which is one of the most difficult environments in college football.”
“Yes, they have a new coach there, Mike Elko. He’s competing against his former quarterback, Riley Leonard, who was with him at Duke last year. So I think that gives him a little bit of an advantage. He knows Riley Leonard’s deficiencies and I just think Notre Dame is walking into a very impossible situation,” Finebaum explained. “This will be their toughest game of the year. So Desmond, 100% correct. They win this game, we don’t need to debate this much longer. But I don’t think they’re going to get out of there with a win.”
A ton will be on the line for the Fighting Irish this weekend at Kyle Field in a matchup that kicks off at 7:30 p.m. ET and airs on ABC this Saturday.