Notre Dame football: Week 9 games affecting the Fighting Irish
Which Week 9 games had an effect on Notre Dame football?
Notre Dame football took care of business against a Georgia Tech team who was out of their depth. Still far from perfect, Notre Dame’s size, talent, and experience won out in Atlanta. In other words, the game went how just about every game has gone this season for Notre Dame.
Of course, even if it doesn’t always feel like it, there are more teams playing than Notre Dame every Saturday. For the most part, Notre Dame fans can safely ignore them in the knowledge that they don’t matter to the Irish.
As with every week, there are always a handful of results that demand attention for Notre Dame football fans, whether through their direct impact on Notre Dame or through broader implications of their results.
Here are those games affecting Notre Dame in week 9:
Clemson 34 Boston College 28
You couldn’t expect Clemson to dominate without presumed number 1 overall draft pick Trevor Lawrence at quarterback as they have been with him. You still expected them to beat most teams with ease, though. That’s why a 28-10 halftime lead for Boston College caught the country’s eye.
Of course, the second half was a mess for Boston College. They desperately clung to, and quickly lost their three-score lead and eventually the game. Still, they proved that Clemson is very beatable without Lawrence. Notre Dame should be able to give them at least as good a game as Boston College, after all, they’re a more talented team than the Eagles.
It’s a game that gives Irish fans hope against a Clemson team that most have penciled in with a loss. At the same time, it’s just more proof that the Boston College game could disrupt Notre Dame’s ACC Championship Game bid.
Virginia 44 North Carolina 41
This was a shocker. Virginia hasn’t shown much all season, while North Carolina has been explosive. We learned a few things about both teams. Virginia has been playing to their competition, while North Carolina hasn’t been as consistent as they need to be to truly compete for a conference championship.
More importantly, the North Carolina loss is important for standings heading towards the ACC Championship Game. Their second loss leaves two undefeated teams (Notre Dame and Clemson) and a single one-loss team (Miami) left at the top of the standings. With more of a cushion from the pack in the ACC, the Irish can better afford a regular-season loss and still make the championship game.
Texas 41 Oklahoma State 34
After a few losses to Sun Belt teams, followed by multiple losses from Oklahoma and Texas, the Big 12 was left for dead. Except, they still had an unbeaten team in Oklahoma State-until they dropped an overtime thriller to Texas. The Big 12 is left with no undefeated teams left, and due to Kansas State’s loss to West Virginia, only Oklahoma State doesn’t have multiple losses.
Why does anything regarding Big 12 standings matter to Notre Dame?
The Big 12 effectively is eliminating itself from the College Football Playoff discussion. Playing a conference with Clemson, Notre Dame needs help to likely be a part of a conference getting two teams into the CFP. One of the best ways to do that is by simply finding a couple of conferences who lose too much to get invited. The Big 12 may already be there.
Ohio State 38 Penn State 25
Ohio State continues to solidify itself as the number 3 team for the College Football Playoff. This leaves one spot available for Notre Dame to squeeze into the CFP. They have two options to do this.
The first is by getting sneaking in as a second ACC team. The second is to have Alabama, Clemson, or Ohio State start losing. Ohio State doesn’t seem to have any plans on slowing down, so the best option for Notre Dame remains to win their own game against Clemson and control their own fate.