Heather Dinich spotlights Army vs. Notre Dame as critical to Tennessee, College Football Playoff bubble teams

Saturday’s contest between Army and Notre Dame will have College Football Playoff implications for many teams. Not only are both schools looking to make their way into the postseason, but several teams ranked below the Fighting Irish in the recent CFP rankings could benefit if they lose.

That includes Tennessee and a host of other SEC schools currently on the bubble, including Texas A&M as well. ESPN senior writer Heather Dinich joined the network’s College Football Playoff rankings reveal show to spell out what a Notre Dame loss would mean.

“If by chance Notre Dame loses that game to Army, you know who should be the biggest Army fan right now? Tennessee and anyone else on that bubble,” she said. “I don’t think that Notre Dame can survive a second loss. I’m certainly not going to pick the Irish to lose to Army, but if they did, every team on the bubble – their hopes increase a little bit.”

Notre Dame came in ranked No. 6 when the CFP rankings were revealed Tuesday. Conversely, Tennessee is No. 11 but would not make the 12-team bracket, as No. 14 BYU is currently projected to get an automatic bid as the Big 12 champion. A loss would cause the Irish to fall an open up a spot for the Vols.

There’s also an interesting question as to what the committee would do with Army if it were to win. The Black Knights are currently 9-0 and this would certainly be a resume-boosting victory.

Army ranks No. 19 in the CFP rankings and is second-highest team from a non-power conference behind Boise State (No. 12). However, the Broncos already have one loss on the season, albeit to No. 1 Oregon. If Army closed out the season undefeated and won the AAC, would that be enough for the committee to give them a bid over Boise State or perhaps a Big 12 team?

Of course, if Notre Dame wins like it is expected to, that will significantly hurt the chances of Tennessee and other teams in the 8-15 range as well as knock Army out entirely. There’s a lot hinging on the game, which is set to kick off at 7 p.m. ET on Saturday at Yankee Stadium in New York.