Notre Dame football: Loss to Ohio State doesn’t end CFP dreams
By Brad Weiss
The Notre Dame football team may have lost to Ohio State on Saturday night, but the loss won’t kill their College Football Playoff dreams.
Through the first two quarters of the Notre Dame football team’s opening game against Ohio State, it looked like the Irish could end up shocking the world. Their defense had held the Buckeyes to only seven points, and the offense looked very sharp behind a first-time starting quarterback in Tyler Buchner.
However, after the break, it was all Ohio State, as the offense could not get anything going, and Buchner completed only two more passes after an 8-for-8 start. The running game was stymied by the Ohio State front seven, and in the end, CJ Stroud made enough plays in the passing game, coupled with a strong Buckeyes rushing attack to take down the No. 5 Irish.
While all may seem lost a day after, the Irish season is far from over.
Notre Dame football can still make the College Football Playoff
The schedule for the Irish will get a bit softer across the next few weeks, as they take on Marshall at home next weekend, and then Cal and UNC. After that, a matchup with a top-25 team in BYU before winnable games against Stanford, UNLV, and Syracuse.
From there, the Irish can really bolster their CFP resume, as they will play Clemson, who could be a top-3 team at that point, and then close out their season against USC, who should rocket up the rankings this season. With Lincoln Riley as the head coach, many feel the Trojans will be a tough out the entire season, as he looks to get the program back on track.
If the Irish can run the table, and finish with only one loss, they should be able to make it into the College Football Playoff. Of course, the loss to Ohio State hurts, especially if they both only have one loss when all is said and done, but for now, they need to just put their heads down and realize there is still a lot left to play for.