College Football Playoff Projections: Will Notre Dame host a first-round game?
No. 8 Notre Dame won. No. 7 Tennessee and No. 6 BYU lost. Unless a two-loss Southeastern Conference team jumps the Irish — which seems unlikely, given how it’s treated two-loss SEC teams in the past two weeks — second-year head coach Marcus Freeman‘s team should be in line to host a first-round College Football Playoff game.
It’s clear at this point that the Atlantic Coast Conference and Big 12 will be one-bid leagues and their champions will be ranked below Notre Dame, so if the Irish are the No. 6 team in the CFP rankings, they will be the No. 8 seed in the bracket. That’s where most projections have the Irish after Week 12.
On3’s Andy Staples: No. 8 seed, vs. Penn State
Winner faces No. 1 Oregon in the Rose Bowl
“Yes, the loss to Northern Illinois still sucks. But the win at Texas A&M continues to look good. And next week Notre Dame faces undefeated Army at Yankee Stadium.” — Staples
On3’s Ari Wasserman: No. 10 seed, at Penn State
Winner faces No. 2 Texas in the Sugar Bowl
“With a win over Virginia on Saturday, Notre Dame picked up its eighth-consecutive win since the shocking upset loss to Northern Illinois. Notre Dame’s next two games are against a ranked Army team and a road trip to USC, so there’s an opportunity for weirdness. But the odds say Notre Dame will finish 11-1 and in the Playoff field.” — Wasserman
Note: Wasserman has Georgia and Ole Miss moving ahead of Notre Dame.
ESPN’s Heather Dinich: No. 8 seed, vs. Alabama
Winner faces No. 1 Oregon in the Rose Bowl
“Notre Dame’s schedule hasn’t been as weak as it once appeared. The season-opening win at Texas A&M highlights Notre Dame’s résumé, as the Aggies still control their path to the SEC title game. The win against Georgia Tech also is respected in the committee meeting room, but the victory against Louisville lost some luster after the Cardinals fell at Stanford on Saturday.
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“The Irish have won eight straight games since the Sept. 7 loss to Northern Illinois, including Saturday’s triumph against visiting Virginia (5-5). Even though Navy has slid and lost three of its past four games, the committee considers the fact the Midshipmen were undefeated and ranked when Notre Dame beat them 51-14 on Oct. 26 at MetLife Stadium.” — Dinich
Sporting News’ Bill Bender: No. 8 seed, vs. Alabama
Winner faces No. 1 Oregon in the Rose Bowl
“Can you imagine this first-round game in South Bend? Alabama beat Mercer 52-7 and maintains its at-large spot heading into a road trip to Oklahoma. Jalen Milroe has not thrown an interception in three games since the loss to Tennessee on Oct. 19, and he averages 170 passing yards and 92.7 rushing yards with eight total TDs in those games. The Irish coasted in the second half of a 35-14 victory against Virginia. Notre Dame rushed for 234 yards and forced five turnovers, which sets up a season-defining showdown against unbeaten Army.”— Bender
College Football Network’s Oliver Hodgkinson: No. 8 seed, vs. Alabama
Winner faces No. 1 Oregon in the Rose Bowl
“Our metric gives Alabama a single-point advantage in South Bend against Notre Dame. While the Fighting Irish have been impressive in every game since losing to the Northern Illinois Fighting Irish, can they handle a dual-threat quarterback like Jalen Milroe? Our College Football Playoff predictions suspect not, with the Crimson Tide facing Oregon in the quarterfinals.” — Hodgkinson
