Notre Dame football to play in three of the 2022 top-10 playoff-shifting games

There is no doubt the Notre Dame football team will be a player when it comes to the College Football Playoff race, and they have some huge games to prove so.

For the 2022 Notre Dame football team, getting to the College Football Playoff in Marcus Freeman’s first season would be a dream come true. Of course, for that dream to come true, there is a lot of work to be done, and they will have to navigate a very tough 2022 schedule.

Recently, Sam Marsdale put out a piece detailing the top-10 playoff-shifting games of the 2022 college football season, and the Irish were all over it. In fact, he had the Irish playing in three of the ten games that made up the list, so there is no doubt the Irish are going to be big-time players when it comes to forming this year’s CFP.

Here are the three games.

Notre Dame football to play in three of the 2022 top-10 playoff-shifting games

No 1: Week 1 at Ohio State

No big surprise here, as the Ohio State matchup in Week 1 is going to be one of the most-watched games of the entire 2022 college football season. These are two teams that will be desperately trying to earn a spot in the CFP this season, and both could see their seasons swing in opposite directions depending on the outcome.

No. 2: vs Clemson

The Clemson Tigers had their issues last season, so you can expect a fired up Tigers team heading to South Bend this upcoming season. Dabo Swinney is hoping to get better play from his quarterback in 2022, but against what should be a very tough Irish defense that is peaking by this time of the season, this has the potential to be a low-scoring game.

No. 3: at USC

Then there is the rivalry game, the final week of the season will see the Irish head out west to take on the USC Trojans. USC should be a much better team with Lincoln Riley at the helm, and at this point in the season, both teams could be playing for their playoff lives, making this the kind of season-ending game you dream about.

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Notre Dame football has a real chance to either help their own playoff chances, or crush those of some rivals, which is right where you want to be. If they can somehow upset Ohio State in Week 1, we could be in for a possible playoff season, which would be a dream scenario for first-year head coach Marcus Freeman.