Notre Dame Football: 3 Teams Irish Fans Should Root for During the Bye

Saturdays aren’t the same without Notre Dame football. But if you’re looking for a few teams to root for today, these teams should make your list.

For Notre Dame football fans, there will be no stress on Saturday. The biggest test for the Irish this week will be how fast they can navigate the channels on their cable package to check in on the scores of other teams. Here are a few candidates that the Irish–and you–should be pulling for on Saturday.

Washington State over Oregon

This is a big game, not only because of the presence of ESPN’s College Gameday, but also because of Notre Dame’s playoff hopes. Oregon lost to Stanford, but they still have only one loss and one of the best quarterbacks in college football. If the Ducks are able to run the table in the Pac-12 and win the Pac-12 title game, they pose a threat to Notre Dame’s playoff hopes.

Now you could read this and say “Wait a minute. Washington State only has one loss, too.” You’d be right. But in this case, Washington State has a much more difficult road to running the table than Oregon does. After today, the Cougars have games at Stanford, at Colorado, and against Washington, among others. On the other hand, Oregon has no more games scheduled against ranked opponents after today.

Notre Dame fans should be pulling for Washington State and general Pac-12 wackiness.

North Carolina State over Clemson

North Carolina State is the team that’s going to cause the most havoc to the College Football Playoff, if they continue to win. First of all, both the Wolfpack and the Clemson Tigers are in the Atlantic division of the ACC. This game may just decide who plays in the ACC championship game against the winner of the Coastal division, which is currently led by Virginia Tech.

Make no bones about it, Clemson is the better team in this matchup. But for Irish fans, the best scenario would be the elimination of Clemson from contention in this game, while NC State moves on to the ACC Championship game to play Virginia Tech. The Hokies have a lot of work to do to get to that game, however, but if they get there, Justin Fuentes and company would have a better go at it against the Wolfpack.

To add another layer of intrigue, North Carolina State had its game against West Virginia canceled earlier this season. There is a chance that the Wolfpack could run the table to win the ACC and only be 12-0 at season’s end. Would a 12-0 NC State match up to a 12-0 Notre Dame? Would the Wolfpack be forced to make up their game against West Virginia? I have no idea the answers to those questions, but I’m rooting for the chaos that would ensue if it happens.

Michigan over Michigan State

This was a difficult decision. First of all, this game features two Notre Dame rivals. It’s hard to root for either of these teams. But this game adds another layer of intrigue.

There is the thought that Michigan could be contending for a playoff spot at season’s end, and for that reason, the Irish should hope the Wolverines get knocked off.

But not so fast, my friend.

If the Wolverines run the table, that will mean knocking off Ohio State, as well. A one-loss Ohio State team that doesn’t have a Big Ten title under its belt is no threat to Notre Dame’s playoff hopes.

In short, Michigan and Ohio State are competing for the same playoff spot. For Notre Dame, it’s best if Michigan looks dominant moving forward.

Side note: Perhaps the dream scenario for Notre Dame is if Michigan State wins this game, but then Michigan runs the table and wins the Big Ten with two losses. That scenario would effectively eliminate the Big Ten from playoff contention. For now, though, I’m still rooting for Michigan to be a resume-builder for the Irish.