Fighting Irish fans were sweating a little after Week 3 when Notre Dame was suddenly 0-2 on the season and on the brink of already jeopardizing their spot in the College Football Playoff. However, since that 0-2 start, where they lost to the then No. 10 Miami, who is now No. 2 in the country, and then No. 16 Texas A&M, who is now No. 5 in the country, Notre Dame has won three games in a row and is looking pretty good.
Two losses are not ideal for any team, but in the new age of the 12-team playoff, even two losses don't doom a team to being let out. However, Notre Dame pretty much has to play a perfect season for the rest of the year, but other teams are making it a lot easier on the Fighting Irish.
The AP pre-season No. 1 and No. 2 teams, Texas and Penn State, just dropped out of the rankings this past week after the Longhorns suffered their second loss of the season at the hands of the 1-3 Florida Gators, and the Nittany Lions were handed their second straight loss by the winless UCLA Bruins.
Other top-ranked teams early on in the season, like Clemson, have also fallen out, and even Illinois isn't ranked as high as many thought they would be at this point.
Notre Dame's two losses to top teams aren't looking so bad
While Notre Dame lost two games early on in the season, those two losses came by a total of four points, so a few different plays could have changed those losses into wins. Those two losses are what the College Football Playoff committee would call quality losses to quality teams.
Now, for Texas and Penn State, losses to teams like Florida and UCLA are ones that could keep them out of the College Football Playoff. So right now, Notre Dame is looking pretty good when it comes to the selection committee.
Notre Dame just has to keep its head down and continue to keep the wagon moving and winning their games. They still have some big games coming up, and while they may not be ranked super high in the rankings, they can still find their way in the playoff at the end.