Analyst: Bitter rival heading to South Bend for playoffs vs Notre Dame football

When it comes to Notre Dame football, it seems as though every analyst agrees that the Irish will make the playoffs in the first year of the 12-team alignment. Where disagreements come into play is just how far ND is going and what seed they'll get.

Count ESPN's Heather Dinich among those who believe that the Irish will at least get a high enough seed to host a playoff game. Dinich's prediction comes from Fighting Irish Wire, which saw it on ESPN+.

It doesn't appear that Dinich goes as far as saying who will win the game. Still, she believes Notre Dame football will face off against the Miami Hurricanes, who she pinpoints as the ACC runner-up. That alone is quite the prediction.

Notre Dame football faces off against ACC bitter rival in playoffs

The Fighting Irish won't get a first round bye, according to Dinich, though their seven-seed will be enough to host the playoff game. That alone might be enough to be the push they need to get to the second round.

For whatever reason, it doesn't seem like there are all that many people who believe Notre Dame can make some real noise in the playoffs. Whether that's because of the weak schedule or simply not believing the team can be better than the 10-3 it was a year ago, Marcus Freeman and his gang have some doubters to prove wrong.

With questions on the offensive line, there may be doubters of Notre Dame football until they start racking up wins against good teams. They can start that off with a season-opening win against Texas A&M.