Notre Dame Is Strong At #4

No one should be naive’ enough to blindly believe that if the Irish win out- they’re in.

Jeff Long had to repeat himself as he spoke to the ESPN clown quartet; Notre Dame is strong at #4. After a couple of days of analysts being analysts, the Fighting Irish remain the #4 team in the country according to the College Football Playoff committee. In fact, after a little bit of chaos last weekend, the entire top 4 remains the same.

It was all a bit strange anyways. Going into last weekend, most of the pundits (who neither have a say in the rankings or any real clue on how the committee thinks) were all saying that if Notre Dame would win out- they’re in. However, after Notre Dame beat their opponent by three touchdowns, and with one past top 25 opponent losing and with one future top 10 opponent losing, the talk and the tables turned on the Irish.

After the rankings were released, the main focus again was on Notre Dame and if they can fend off the Big 12 teams that are charging for the #4 spot. A fair and reasonable argument can be made for any one of those schools- BUT THEY AIN’T THE ONES IN THE DRIVER SEAT BABY!

No one should be naive’ enough to blindly believe that if the Irish win out- they’re in. At the same time though, Notre Dame fans can feel pretty good about the chances of the Fighting Irish with 2 games left. One of the big things to take away from the rankings however, is that despite Stanford losing at home to Oregon (which was a big red flag for the future of Notre Dame’s strength of schedule) the Cardinal are still sitting at #11 and could be in the top 10 after this week. That’s still a HUGE win for Notre Dame. The rise of Navy to #16 and USC’s return to the top 25 at #24 helps the cause as well.

So, in the end, it’s still all about winning. Win the last two games of the season. Leave zero doubt. Watch as other teams in the hunt cannibalize each other in these last few weeks. Laugh as the Irish fortify themselves as a playoff team. Drink. Profit.