Notre Dame football: Phil Steele predicts his College Football Playoff
By Brad Weiss
The Notre Dame football team has made the College Football Playoff in two of the last three seasons, but can they make it for the third time in 2021?
Last season, the Notre Dame football program was one of the final four teams standings, clinching their spot as the No. 4 seed in the College Football Playoff. However, they were no match for No. 1 Alabama, getting trounced in the Rose Bowl, and ending their season with two consecutive losses.
In 2021, the Irish will be looking to return to the College Football Playoff, but they will have to do so after losing All-American talent on both sides of the ball. Do they have enough left to make up for the losses? Only time will tell, but one major college football name feels that returning to the CFP is out of the cards.
Notre Dame football falls short according to Phil Steele
Speaking on the Klahr and Company Podcast on ESPN Denver, Steele was asked about which four teams he believed would make the College Football Playoff this season. He had the more common teams, like Alabama, Clemson, and Oklahoma, but rounding out his top four was not the Notre Dame football team.
In fact, not only was Oklahoma his fourth team in, he actually likes the Sooners to win it all this season.
The Sooners certainly have the talent to do so, as they are loaded on both sides of the ball, and have the potential No. 1 overall pick at quarterback in Spencer Rattler. Head coach Lincoln Riley is one of the best in the game, and they have elite prospects along the offensive line, and at wide receiver per Steele.
It is no big secret that the Irish lost a lot of talent to the NFL Draft and graduation this year, and will be looking to fill holes all over the place. You likely will not see too many preseason polls with them as one of the last four teams standing, but as we saw last season, this too is a program loaded with depth, and if things go their way early on, there are a ton of wins on their schedule in 2021.