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Paul Finebaum: Notre Dame must beat Navy to keep College Football Playoff hopes alive

Screen Shot 2024-05-28 at 9.09.17 AMby:Kaiden Smith•10/25/24•

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Notre Dame players celebrate a touchdown vs. Georgia Tech. (Photo by Brett Davis-Imagn Images)

Notre Dame and Navy have been squaring off against one another since 1927. But this Saturday in MetLife Stadium, the stakes of the rivalry may be higher than ever before, as both programs enter the game ranked in the AP Top 25 Poll.

Not many expected the Midshipmen to be ranked No. 24 in the country with an undefeated record when they headed into their Week 9 matchup against the Fighting Irish. Who have now found themselves in a must-win situation to keep their College Football Playoff hopes alive after already suffering one upset loss this season.

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“Notre Dame has to win Greeny, and remember that ugly loss against Northern Illinois. They don’t really have any room for error,” college football analyst Paul Finebaum told Mike Greenberg Friday morning on Get Up.

The Fighting Irish suffering the biggest upset loss of the season in Week 2 against NIU has made their margin of error thin regarding the postseason. Losing at home as 28.5-point favorites to a MAC program that’s now 4-3.

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Notre Dame entered that matchup ranked No. 5 in the country, dropping significantly and having climbed back to a No. 12 spot in the AP Poll since. But the difficulty of the remainder of their schedule paired with being an independent program is what increases the stakes of each week moving forward for the Fighting Irish when it comes to the CFP.

“Later in the season, Southern Cal will not help them with already four losses. They don’t have a conference championship game. They better win this game or they may be watching the playoffs on the outside,” Finebaum said.

Future matchups against USC and Florida State have lost the status they had entering the season, as both teams are now unranked with a combined record of 4-10. With military academies representing the only ranked opponents the Fighting Irish now face this regular season as they look to run the table and make their case to be included in the new expanded 12-team College Football Playoff.