College Football Playoff Projections: Will Notre Dame move up this week?
No. 10 Notre Dame bashed Florida State 52-3 on Saturday in South Bend, but that’s not all that happened around college football this week.
No. 3 Georgia lost to No. 16 Ole Miss, handing the Bulldogs their second loss and keeping the Rebels very much alive. No. 4 Miami was upset by Georgia Tech, all but ensuring the Atlantic Coast Conference is a one-bid league. No. 8 Indiana and No. 9 BYU survived serious upset threats, and No. 11 Alabama trounced Brian Kelly and No. 15 LSU in Baton Rouge, La.
How does it all affect the Irish, who would visit No. 6 Penn State if the season ended last week? Well, it’s quite possible that Alabama could pass them. It’s not out of the question that Ole Miss will, too. But Miami, Georgia and possibly Indiana and BYU could fall behind.
Most of Sunday’s College Football Playoff projections have Notre Dame either standing pat or slightly moving up. Here’s where they believe the Irish will be seeded when the next round of rankings comes out on Tuesday.
The numbers listed here are Notre Dame’s projected CFP seed, which is not necessarily where it is ranked in the selection committee’s top 25.
On3’s Andy Staples: No. 9 seed, at Ole Miss
“The Fighting Irish crushed Florida State 52-3 on Saturday, but the Seminoles are a shadow of their former selves. Notre Dame now faces a Virginia team coming off a win against Pittsburgh and follows that with the currently undefeated Army.” — Staples
On3’s Ari Wasserman: No. 10 seed, at Ole Miss
“Notre Dame blew out Florida State on Saturday. Though people still can’t get the loss to Northern Illinois out of their heads, the Irish have now won seven games in a row, most of which have come in blowout fashion. If Notre Dame finishes the season 11-1, it’s in.” — Wasserman
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ESPN’s Heather Dinich: No. 9 seed, at Indiana
“For all of the concerns about Notre Dame’s schedule, it turns out the Irish have two wins against ranked opponents — No. 14 Texas A&M and No. 22 Louisville. The only ranking that matters is the committee’s, so how the group judges each contender’s opponents is a critical part of the process. Manuel also said the committee respected Notre Dame’s convincing win against Navy, and it helped that the Midshipmen were able to stop their slide and beat South Florida on Saturday.
“The combination of those wins helped the Irish overcome “what was a troubling loss to Northern Illinois,” Manuel said. Saturday’s win against Florida State won’t move the needle in the committee room one way or the other.” — Dinich
Sporting News’ Bill Bender: No. 9 seed, at Indiana
Context: Bender has the Irish beating Indiana and advancing to the Rose Bowl against Oregon.
“Two first-round upsets? We have Ole Miss beating Penn State and Notre Dame taking out Indiana. The Rebels likely would be favored against BYU in the Fiesta Bowl if it comes to this matchup, but it is a trip out West. Notre Dame would make its first trip to Pasdena, Calif., since 1925 to face the Ducks. It would be cool to see those gold Irish helmets coming out of the tunnel at the Rose Bowl.” — Bender
Blake Toppmeyer, USA TODAY Sports: No. 10 seed. vs. Alabama
“My latest “Topp Rope” playoff projection: Oregon (Big Ten), Alabama (SEC), Miami (ACC), BYU (Big 12), Boise State (Group of Five), plus at-large selections Ole Miss, Texas, Georgia, Tennessee, Ohio State, Penn State, Notre Dame. Next up: Indiana, SMU, Colorado, Texas A&M, Army, Tulane.” — Toppmeyer
