College Football Playoff projections: Where Notre Dame stands in final pre-rankings field
On Tuesday evening, the College Football Playoff committee will release its first top-25 rankings of the 2024 season. Every committee is different, but most have valued one thing (aside from overall record) above all else: quality wins.
Notre Dame’s best win, a 23-13 victory over Texas A&M in Week 1, might be enough to put the 7-1 Irish in the projected field. If the national experts are to be believed, it will be.
Each of the six national experts Blue & Gold surveyed have Notre Dame in the first 12-team College Football Playoff in their final predictions before the first list that matters is revealed. Here’s what they said about the Irish.
On3’s Andy Staples: No. 9 seed, at Penn State
“The Fighting Irish had the week off after beating Navy, and next they face Florida State in a game that seemed much more interesting before the season began. The stretch run for the Irish looks quite manageable.” — Staples
On3’s Ari Wasserman: No. 8 seed, vs. Alabama
“Notre Dame‘s two best wins took hits Saturday. Both Texas A&M and Navy lost. But as long as the Irish, who have now won six straight games, keep winning, that’s not going to matter. People were shocked Notre Dame stayed in or around these projections even after losing to Northern Illinois, but the path to 11 wins was always there. It gets more and more likely with each passing week.” — Wasserman
Fox Sports’ Joel Klatt: No. 8 seed, vs. Tennessee
“Notre Dame’s going to have buoyancy in the playoff picture because of its win over Texas A&M. I think the Fighting Irish might still be in the mix even if they lose one more game this season due to that.” — Klatt
ESPN’s Heather Dinich: No. 10 seed, at Penn State
“Notre Dame got a lot of help during its bye week when Iowa State, Kansas State, Clemson and Texas A&M all lost. The loss to Northern Illinois is still holding the Irish back some, but the committee will recognize their improvement — particularly on offense — since that day. The Irish dominated Navy, but the committee would respect a neutral-site win against a team that was previously undefeated.” — Dinich
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USA TODAY Sports’ Blake Toppmeyer: No. 9 seed, at Tennessee
“The Irish’s soft schedule should prevent them from being ranked much higher, but the committee can point to wins against Texas A&M and Louisville to justify this ranking.” — Toppmeyer
Sports Illustrated’s Pat Forde: No. 11 seed, at Ohio State
“How contentious will the annual Notre Dame squabble be? In a word, very. The lightning-rod Fighting Irish are in the playoff hunt at 7–1, but that one loss is brutal: at home to 4–4 Northern Illinois, currently the ninth-place team in the Mid-American Conference.
“We’ll find out how much the worst loss for any contender is held against Notre Dame. The Irish had a couple of quality wins — by 10 points at Texas A&M, and by 37 over Navy — but both lost some luster this past weekend when the Aggies and Midshipmen were upset. What looked like a major showdown with Florida State on Saturday has lost all luster, with the Seminoles a pathetic 1–8. Similarly, a victory in the season-ending rivalry clash with USC wouldn’t help the résumé much, with the Trojans tanking at 4–5. Undefeated Army improbably looms as a quality opponent on Nov. 23.
“The longer Texas A&M remains a viable playoff contender, the more important that win will be.” — Forde
