Notre Dame Football: 247Sports projection leaves Irish out of playoff

Notre Dame football is expected to have a successful 2020 season, but the experts don’t expect them to make the College Football Playoff.

Notre Dame football will, once again, be center stage during the talks of the College Football Playoff. However, according to a survey done by 247Sports, the experts don’t expect the Irish to crack the top four teams that ultimately make the playoff.

In the aggregate scoring–an average ranking of all the writers polled–Notre Dame didn’t make the top 6, but a few individual writers showed the Irish some love. A few writers ranked the Irish the Irish 5th or 6th. None of the writers had the Irish in the playoff.

On the whole, this really isn’t all that surprising, but I will say that I’m at least a little surprised that no one took a flier on the Irish.

Notre Dame has to replace a ton of offensive talent. That’s Notre Dame’s biggest obstacle ahead of the 2020 season. But the Irish have experience and talent where it matters most: The quarterback position. In addition, the Irish will have one of the best offensive lines in college football, at least according to the experts.

On defense, the Irish should be more than just fine. The front 7 for the Irish will be very experienced overall and there is talent in the back part of the defense, as well.

Likely, the conversation for the Irish shifts to this: Clemson comes to South Bend on November 7th in a game that will almost undoubtedly pit Notre Dame as the underdog against the talented Tigers. If Notre Dame falls in that game and finishes the season 11-1, it’s going to be hard for the Irish to sneak into the playoff, especially with the likes of Clemson, Ohio State, and Alabama in the fold.

Obviously, a lot has to go right for any team to make the playoff. It’s just a tad surprising that really no experts had enough love for the Irish to predict them to make the College Football Playoff.