Notre Dame Football: The Second Half Rooting Guide
You should root for...
Auburn Tigers: Auburn has only one loss, so they’ll still be in the thick of the College Football Playoff hunt. It’s hard to see them winning out and going 11-1 with the tough schedule they have remaining. Arkansas, Ole Miss and Samford should provide little challenge. The other three games could be tricky.
If Auburn could knock off any combination (or all three) of LSU, Georgia and Alabama, that would provide a chance for the Irish to make the jump. LSU is the only road game, so Auburn stands a good chance of getting at least one victory. Of course, we know that an SEC team needs more than one loss to be eliminated from contention. More on that later…
Arizona Wildcats: It’s highly likely that the PAC-12 is already eliminated from Playoff contention, but let’s cheer on our friends from the desert for confirmation. The Wildcats already have two losses, including to a really good Hawaii team that most will still look down on. Even if Arizona wins the conference, you’d have to think the Rose Bowl is their ceiling.
The league’s best chance is likely Oregon, who Arizona plays as the first of a three game stretch that could make or break the conference. The trip to Eugene is up by South division rivals and one loss teams at home against Utah and at Arizona State. The Wildcats holds the power to deal the death blow to the 2019 Playoff chances.
Iowa Hawkeyes: At 4-2, it’s fair to call the Hawkeyes a disappointment. In pushing both Michigan and Penn State to the limit, they still showed they can compete with anyone. That’s why they’re important. Iowa still has two undefeated teams left on their schedule, Wisconsin and Minnesota. Both of those games will be back to back, so there won’t be much resting time.
If Iowa wins out, it’s possible (although unlikely) that they can win the Big 10 West and face off against Ohio State. And if Iowa can somehow upset the Buckeyes, that’ll be a huge win for not only Iowa, but also for Notre Dame’s playoff chances.
South Carolina Gamecocks: I mentioned earlier that SEC teams need two losses to be out of the Playoff hunt. South Carolina already made Notre Dame’s strength of schedule look a little less impressive, but they sure can make up for it. If the Gamecocks lose to teams like Tennessee and Vanderbilt, that’ll make the Georgia loss look that much worse. But with three big games left, they can definitely make their resumé look better.
They have a home game against undefeated Group of Five power Appalachain State, who has a history of at minimum challenging Power 5 teams. The two big games left are against Florida this week and the season finale against Clemson. A win in just one of those games would definitely help that one Irish loss look better. And if South Carolina can upset Clemson, that could open up a door nobody could have imagined..
Bonus: The entire MAC East (especially Bowling Green): The MAC East is bad right now. Real bad. There’s a possibility that the entire division finishes without a team above .500. Bowling Green was never going to move the needle on Notre Dame anyways, but come on, give us something.