Notre Dame Football left off out of one College Football Playoff projection

There are times when it really feels like the sports world is aligned against the Notre Dame football program. Yes, the Irish lost to Northern Illinois in their second game of the season. But outside of that anomaly, few teams have taken care of business the way Marcus Freeman’s squad has done.

So how is it that there are still analysts out there who believe the Blue and Gold should be left out of the College Football Playoff field? How, after a 52-3 win over Florida State to move to 8-1 could they be the “last team out?”

That’s a question only the analyst who believes the Notre Dame footbal team (now ranked No. 7 and No. 8 in the polls) should miss the playoffs can answer. And after Stan Becton of NCAA.com did leave them out, he has some questions to answer indeed.

Notre Dame football bizarrely left out of playoffs

In his explanation, Becton doesn’t really make clear why he thinks the Irish would be left out. Other than the Playoff Committee might want to “send a message.”

“Notre Dame falls out of the playoff field as Alabama and Ole Miss move in front of it. With only one ranked opponent remaining on the schedule, the committee could send a message about Notre Dame's stability in the bracket this week.”

Becton ranks the Irish No. 12 but has them getting jumped in the playoff bracket by No. 13 Boise State. It’s worth pointing out that with Ole Miss getting the No. 11 ranking, Becton believes the SEC should have five teams in the playoffs.

That feels extremely unlikely, though admittedly not impossible. Meanwhile, all Notre Dame football can do is keep winning and hope it’s made its case.