Plenty of Notre Dame fans might say they’re hoping both teams lose or rooting for the meteor late Saturday night when USC hosts Michigan, but the reality is that the Fighting Irish have an obvious rooting interest in the matchup or their two biggest rivals.
After the Irish (likely) handle their business against NC State as a 23.5-point favorite at 3:30 p.m. ET in South Bend on Saturday, Notre Dame should turn its attention and energy directly towards cheering on its most hated rival, USC. The Trojans winning wouldn’t just damage No. 15 Michigan’s chances of making the College Football Playoff, but would help to boost the Irish’s CFP resume down the road.
USC could cost Notre Dame a College Football Playoff bid this week
Notre Dame put itself firmly behind the eight ball with back-to-back losses to open the season, and now at No. 16 in the country, the Irish have an uphill climb to get back into the CFP picture. It’s not just that Notre Dame suffered two losses, but it’s that Marcus Freeman’s team squandered its best opportunities for quality wins this year.
Currently, Miami, which downed the Irish 27-24 in Week 1, and Texas A&M, which defeated Notre Dame 41-40 in South Bend in Week 3, are the only two ranked teams on Notre Dame’s schedule at No. 2 and No. 5 heading into Week 7’s proceedings, respectively. USC had a brief foray into the Top 25, but topped out at No. 21 before losing to Illinois in Champaign in Week 5.
Now, unranked at 4-1, Michigan is the only opponent USC faces before making the Week 8 trip to South Bend on October 18. A win would likely vault the Trojans into the rankings. Lincoln Riley’s team received 46 votes in last week’s poll, essentially ranking it 31st in the country, behind Cincinnati, Texas, Penn State, Utah, and Nebraska. A loss would leave USC further from the Top 25 and remove any chance of Notre Dame notching a win over a ranked opponent this regular season.
If Notre Dame wins out, there is still a strong possibility that the Irish make the CFP. However, with a USC loss to Michigan, even if the Irish finish 10-2, their resume won’t hold up under much scrutiny, and they may need help from other top teams taking tumbles to sneak into the top 12, or top 11 if the highest-ranked Group of Five Conference Champion is outside the Top 12.
It won’t be fun for Notre Dame fans to side with USC, but the Irish desperately need Riley to finally register the big-time Big Ten that has evaded him through a year and a half in the expanded conference.
With conference schedules expanding in the SEC and ACC, it’s getting harder for Notre Dame to secure a schedule that is on par with the nation’s other top teams, and if the 10-2 Irish get left out because they have no ranked wins at the end of the year, it could be time for the program to consider joining a conference.