Notre Dame rankings review: Irish playoff hopes still alive

The Notre Dame loss to Georgia on Saturday did not eliminate the Irish from College Football Playoff contention.

The newest AP Poll has been released and Notre Dame now sits at No. 10. That ranking is indicative of the sort of game the Irish were involved in over the weekend. They lost, and still remain in the Top 10.

Despite what anyone says, losing a game like the one that took place in Athens on Saturday night is not the sort of thing that knocks you out of national championship contention during this era of college football. On the contrary, those games are what the College Football Playoff committee spotlights and emphasize — even when teams lose them. You can argue against this all you want, but your thoughts, feelings, and opinions are not what matters.

All that matters is what happens when the committee members go behind closed doors to grade out the entirety of the season.

You see, unlike the VAST majority of college football fans, the members of the College Football Playoff committee understand that NCAA athletic programs are made up of different rosters each and every year. One class leaves, and new class enters, and every roster is different from year to year. That’s why it is absolutely ignorant for college football media members and fan to insist that what happened to Notre Dame in 2012 or 2018 has any bearing whatsoever on how the Irish should be treated in 2019.

It’s one of the absolute worst takes going around the world of sports right now.

Looking at the current AP rankings, it’s tough to argue what they have going on in the Top 10. Truth be told, it’s probably pretty close to what the playoff committee would have, should they be asked to release their rankings right now.

That bodes well for Notre Dame.

For starters, the Irish are going to be favored in every game they play the rest of the year. That doesn’t guarantee any wins, of course, but it does mean the Notre Dame is expected to run the table on paper.

Now look at the teams in front of Notre Dame in the AP rankings.

Clemson is currently No. 1. Let’s assume they win out. They get one spot in the playoff.

Alabama is No. 2, but they are also one of three teams in the SEC West currently in the top ten, along with Auburn and LSU. I’m going to bet the winner of that division does not finish the season undefeated.

Georgia is No. 3 and their toughest game left looks to be against No. 9 Florida. I’m banking on Georgia winning that one and getting to the SEC Championship team undefeated. If Georgia wins that, they get in. If they lose to a one-loss West champ and it’s close, they both likely get in.

There’s two more possible spots gone. One spot left.

Oklahoma is No. 4 and they’ll likely be playing Texas twice on a neutral field this year. I think the Sooners have at least one loss.

Ohio State and Wisconsin are No. 5 and No. 8. They’ll meet on Oct. 26, giving one of them a loss. The way things look right now, they’ll probably meet again in the Big Ten Championship game. The hope would be that we get a Big Ten champion with at least one loss.

I’m going to assume Cal isn’t going to run the table in the Pac-12.

That would then force the committee to decide between a one loss Big Ten champ, a probable one-loss Big 12 champ, and a one-loss Notre Dame team whose only blemish was the six-point defeat we saw in Athens on Saturday.

That’s the potential scenario as of right now, but it’s a long season. You’ll hear a lot of opinions about Notre Dame’s fate in the next couple of days. Today, however, despite what anyone tells you, Notre Dame is still very much in the College Football Playoff picture.

That is a fact.