Notre Dame beat up on Syracuse this past Saturday with their most convincing win of the season. Without needing to re-cover all of the crazy stats, here is the SparkNotes version of Notre Dame's dominant win.
They went up 21-0 before the offense even took the field, scoring on a pair of interception return touchdowns and a blocked punt touchdown. They scored the most first-quarter points in team history with 35. Jeremiyah Love rushed for 171 yards on just 8 carries and scored 3 touchdowns. They scored 21 more points (70) than CJ Carr had passing yards (49). They scored the most points at home since 1932 and won by more points than any team since 1966.
Not sure which of those is the most surprising stat, but needless to say, it was an absolute butt-kicking in every way, and definitely showed how dangerous the Irish can be.
However, despite this dominant effort and ahead of Tuesday's College Football Playoff Rankings show, I would argue Notre Dame is still not a lock to make the playoff, even with a win against Stanford next week.
Notre Dame College Football Playoff rank projection
Notre Dame, with the win, will be expected to hold firm at number 9 in the CFP rankings on Tuesday. Unfortunately for the Irish, despite the 70-7 win, none of the teams ahead of Notre Dame lost this weekend, despite some close scores.
The only chance for Notre Dame to move up would be if they jumped number 8 Oklahoma, who beat Missouri 17-6 in an ugly, defensive-minded game Saturday.
The argument for Notre Dame to move up would be their dominant win this past weekend, coupled with their convincing 37-15 win over Pittsburgh. That win last week over then-ranked Pittsburgh looks even better now after Pittsburgh's 42-28 win over number 26 Georgia Tech on Saturday night. Oklahoma struggled for large portions of its game Saturday, and the offense still looks lost.
I just don't think it's enough for Notre Dame to move. Oklahoma did just beat Alabama, on the road, two weeks ago for a signature win. Notre Dame's wins over USC and Pittsburgh just are not in that same class.
For that reason, I fully expect Notre Dame to hold firm at number 9 in the CFP rankings this week.
This Upcoming Week's Potential to Move Up
It was a quiet weekend in the college football world, as mentioned. No teams in the Top 10 lost this week for the first time all year.
However, this upcoming weekend is rivalry weekend in college football, with many teams playing crosstown rivals or big games.
Despite a lack of top 25 matchups, there are definitely some intriguing games for the Irish to keep an eye on.
Oklahoma travels to LSU to take on the LSU Tigers. How much LSU has left in the tank for a final game of the season will go a long way in determining how close this one is.
Georgia takes on Georgia Tech this weekend in Atlanta. This game went to 8 overtimes last year before Georgia pulled through. If Georgia Tech can somehow win, that would be two losses for Georgia, and this would be against a most likely unranked Georgia Tech team. Georgia is also unlikely to play for the SEC Championship.
Texas A&M takes on Texas this weekend. Notre Dame could really use a solid game from A&M. That would put them at 12-0 and qualify for an SEC Championship birth.
Oregon takes on 8-3 Washington in Washington. If Washington can catch an Oregon team on a letdown after a big win over USC at home Saturday, they can definitely take down the Ducks. Notre Dame would surely jump a 2-loss Oregon team.
Alabama must travel to Auburn this weekend for the Iron Bowl. If Auburn can take down Bama, that would not only be Alabama's third loss, but it would also keep them out of the SEC Championship game and remove the automatic bid from Alabama's options to qualify.
Finally, Ole Miss, amidst the chaos of Coach Lane Kiffin's decision, must travel to Mississippi State for the Egg Bowl. If Ole Miss loses, and Coach Kiffin leaves, will the committee keep them OUT of the Top 12? I would think so.
Is Notre Dame a lock with a win?
Notre Dame has an important rivalry game of their own this weekend as they travel to Stanford to take on the Cardinal at 10:30 PM Saturday.
Many fans believe that with a win, Notre Dame is locked in for the College Football Playoff and the only question is the ranking.
I'd argue though that this is not the case.
As outlined above, there are many rivalry games that can go either way this weekend; however, based on their seeding and things that CAN happen, Notre Dame is not a lock.
Should we see another week where favorites win out this weekend, Notre Dame may be in a tough spot heading into conference championship games.
Alabama, despite being behind the Irish, would be playing for the SEC Championship with a win. Should Alabama win that game, it would automatically qualify. Even if they lost, would the committee keep out the SEC runner-up?
Another difficult spot is the Big 12. What happens should BYU upset Texas Tech in that game? BYU would get the automatic birth. Would Texas Tech fall from 5th to out? Doubtful. But who would be kicked out for the Cougars? Alabama, if they lose the SEC Championship. But if they win, Notre Dame is next on the pecking order.
All of this is to say that even with a win, there are ways that Notre Dame could be on the outside looking in come decision day. The best way to avoid this would be to win Saturday and hope for some upsets ahead of them.