Heather Dinich expects College Football Playoff selection committee to be skeptical of Notre Dame

Notre Dame, sitting at 7-1 and fresh off a win over then-undefeated Navy, clocked in at No. 8 in the latest AP Poll rankings. But a Top 10 ranking might not be in the cards when the College Football Playoff selection committee releases it’s initial rankings next Tuesday.

That is, at least, what ESPN college football reporter Heather Dinich thinks could happen. Discussing the Irish with colleague Rece Davis on a dress rehearsal rankings show — the first real ones drop on Nov. 5 — Dinich explained that the committee is probably going to put a lot of weight on Notre Dame’s loss, which came at home to a MAC team, Northern Illinois.

“I think this is going to be a much more significant and deep discussion in that committee meeting room than it has been outside of it, for the two reasons you just pointed out: Great win against Texas A&M, worst loss in the country, at home to NIU that now has four losses,” Dinich said. “And I promise you, there will be committee members in that room who point that out and have a hard time getting over it.”

Outside of the loss to the Huskies, Notre Dame has looked the part of a contender, including winning a season opener on the road against a Texas A&M team that’s now first place in the SEC.

Most recently, the Irish eviscerated Navy, sinking the undefeated season for the Midshipmen in a rout on a neutral field. And in doing so, Notre Dame showed off a version of itself that looks to not only be better than the team that lost a stunner at home, but potentially one that can make noise in the postseason.

But that alone, Dinich said, is probably not going to be enough to keep the Irish in a Top 10 spot.

“But [Booger McFarland’s] right, they’ve played well,” Dinich said. “The offense looked great against Navy. I was there. This is a better team now than it was then. But I would expect Notre Dame’s place in the committee’s first ranking to look different than it does in the AP Poll. I’m thinking around 11, 12, 13 and I think they are behind Texas A&M because of the Aggies win against LSU.”