Notre Dame College Football Playoff Projections: Will the Irish move up after win over USC?

No. 5 Notre Dame — who would be the No. 7 seed in the College Football Playoff if the season ended before Week 14 — made a statement Saturday at USC in a 49-35 win.

Combined with Ohio State’s loss to Michigan and Penn State’s less convincing (33-30 in overtime) win at USC earlier this season, it seems likely that the Irish will move up in both the rankings and projected seeding.

Here’s where the College Football Projections place Notre Dame after Week 14.

On3’s Andy Staples: No. 6 seed, vs. Alabama

“The Fighting Irish won their 10th consecutive game by pulling away from USC thanks to two fourth-quarter pick-sixes. They still have the worst loss (Northern Illinois) of any team in the bracket, but they’re also playing better at this point than most of the other teams that will make the field.” — Staples

On3’s Ari Wasserman: No. 6 seed, vs. SMU

Wasserman does not have the Irish on his CFP bubble. Notre Dame is firmly in the 12-team field.

ESPN’s Heather Dinich: No. 6 seed, vs. Miami

“The Irish would also get bumped up after Ohio State’s loss, and 10 straight wins since the Sept. 7 home loss to Northern Illinois. The selection committee could continue to debate if Notre Dame should be ranked ahead of Penn State. Four of their past six games have been either neutral-site or true road wins. Regardless, Penn State and Notre Dame are in strong positions to host first-round home games.” — Dinich

ESPN’s Kyle Bonagura: No. 5, vs. Arizona State

ESPN’s Mark Schlabach: No. 7, vs. Indiana

This story will be updated with Bonagura and Schlabach’s analysis when they publish their complete bowl projections.

NBC Sports’ Nicole Auerbach and Joshua Perry: No. 6 seed, vs. SMU

“Ultimately, it might not matter much if the Fighting Irish are No. 4 or No. 5 in the next set of CFP rankings, because as long as they’re in the range to host a first-round game, all will be well. But now that Notre Dame has beaten USC soundly — a team that Penn State eked past in overtime — it’s time for the CFP selection committee to put the Irish above the Nittany Lions (whose loss to Ohio State depreciated a bit on Saturday).

“I understand that Notre Dame has the worst loss of any CFP contender, but the selection committee has already decided it is not a Playoff eliminator and that the Irish have more than made up for it in the two-plus months since. So, at this point, I’m evaluating the Notre Dame resume the way the committee is — and it seems like the committee might bump up the nation’s most dominant team (over the past two months) ahead of a Penn State team whose best “win” on its resume is a close loss to Ohio State … which just picked up its second loss.” — Auerbach

The Sporting News’ Bill Bender: No. 6 seed, vs. Arizona State

“Notre Dame starts the playoff against Arizona State, though we still think there is room for the Sun Devils to claim a first-round bye. Those are two of the hottest teams in the FBS.” — Bender

CBS Sports’ Jerry Palm: No. 7 seed, vs. Arizona State

Context: Palm believes Georgia will beat Texas in the SEC Championship, and that the Longhorns will not fall behind Notre Dame as a result.

“I may make adjustments to these projections when the CFP rankings are released on Tuesday evening. Now that the regular season is over, teams that are not playing this week typically hold their spots relative to each other, so my changes would reflect that.” — Palm

USA TODAY Network’s John Leuzzi: No. 6 seed, vs. Miami

“One team that won’t have to worry about whether it makes the CFP is Notre Dame, which with its 49-35 win over rival USC is all but guaranteed to make the playoff. The Fighting Irish, of course, won’t be able to progress higher than the fifth seed, as its independent status means it can’t be a conference champion.” — Leuzzi