Notre Dame Football: Notre Dame Falls to No. 15 in College Football Playoff Rankings
By Andrew Hall
The Notre Dame football team fell to No. 15 in the penultimate College Football Playoff rankings.
With their third loss and fall to No. 15, the Irish effectively have no chance to make a New Year’s Six Bowl. Notre Dame needs to land in the Top 10 of the final rankings to earn a bid to one of the New Year’s Six Bowl games.
With the most recent rankings, several teams stand in front of Irish and the Top 10. USC, TCU, Stanford, Washington and UCF rank from No. 10 to No. 14. Several of these teams play this weekend.
In the Big XII Championship, TCU meets No. 3 Oklahoma. In AAC title tilt, UCF faces No. 20 Memphis. In the Pac 12 championship contest, Stanford and USC battle. Washington does not play this weekend.
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The Horned Frogs, Knights and Cardinal or Trojans could also lose this weekend. However, no more than three teams could lose in front of the Irish. Of course, the College Football Playoff committee could move Notre Dame ahead of other teams but that is unlikely.
Despite three loses, the Fighting Irish still have an incredible resume. Notre Dame has played six teams in the rankings. Of the teams Notre Dame defeated, USC, Michigan State and NC State rank No. 10, No. 16 and No. 24 respectively. Of the teams that defeated the Irish, Georgia, Miami (FL) and Stanford come in at No. 6, No. 7 and No. 12 respectively.
There is a possibility that the Irish played three of the five major conference championship. Notre Dame definitely faced one. Stanford and USC face each other on Friday for the Pac 12 Championship.
Champions?
Despite not making the College Football Playoff this season, these rankings are still very important for the future of Notre Dame football. Last season, Ohio State, a non-conference champion, made the playoff. This was their indication that “conference champion” is not the end all be all people think. If Alabama lands in the final four without winning their conference, this is further evidence that it does not matter. Therefore, Notre Dame joining a conference is unnecessary.