Why Notre Dame’s No. 10 College Football Playoff Ranking Doesn’t Add Up

Notre Dame is successful position to make nan College Football Playoff. It shouldn’t be—not yet, anyway—but it is. Those shiny golden helmets must person blinded nan action committee members to reality.

The Fighting Irish (6–2) were talented pinch a No. 10 ranking successful the first installment of nan CFP Top 25. If they triumph retired to decorativeness 10–2—their only remaining superior situation should beryllium astatine No. 24 Pittsburgh connected Nov. 15—they’re acold much apt to emergence from that spot than fall. Their destiny is successful their hands.

This benignant curen Tuesday was a spot much than Notre Dame deserves astatine this juncture. The Irish person 1 value win, astatine location against 6–2 USC. They person 2 losses, 1 by 3 points astatine Miami and astatine location by a azygous constituent against Texas A&M. 

The conclusion against nan Aggies came connected a touchdown walk successful nan last seconds and aft a botched extra-point clasp connected nan past Notre Dame TD. A&M is undefeated and classed No. 3, truthful it’s hardly a bad loss.

For galore weeks, nan nonaccomplishment to nan Hurricanes wasn’t bad either. But Miami has now mislaid 2 of its past 3 games, astir precocious to unranked SMU, and was a startlingly debased No. 18 successful nan first CFP Top 25. Even though nan committee doesn’t attraction overmuch for Miami’s assemblage of work—or anyone’s successful nan beleaguered Atlantic Coast Conference—losing to nan Canes isn’t holding Notre Dame back.

Now see who is classed 4 spots down nan Irish. Louisville (7–1) has a amended grounds than Notre Dame and hit nan Miami squad that defeated nan Irish. To repeat: amended record, amended consequence against a communal classed opponent, 4 spots lower.

“When we look astatine nan tape, we deliberation Notre Dame is simply a really coagulated shot team, some sides of nan ball,” said action committee president Mack Rhoades, nan diversion head astatine Baylor. He’s nan latest luckless spokesperson pinch a thankless task connected nan play TV show. In this case, nan connection seems to beryllium that turning connected nan portion matters much than nan crippled results.

Or, it’s almost for illustration marque sanction matters successful assemblage football.

The 2 teams besides person some played Boston College, pinch almost identical results. The Eagles mislaid by 15 to Notre Dame and 14 to Louisville. They were outgained by 177 yards by nan Irish and 144 yards by nan Cardinals. Louisville led by 49 minutes and 49 seconds; Notre Dame led for 44:52.

How astir nan remainder of nan résumés?

Louisville defeated Pitt, and did truthful connected nan road. Its lone nonaccomplishment was successful overtime against a Virginia squad that nan committee classed No. 13. A triumph complete James Madison (7–1) has gained immoderate rate arsenic nan play has gone on. Wins complete FCS Eastern Kentucky and Bowling Green are quiet calories. All convention roadworthy wins are bully wins, but beating Virginia Tech successful Blacksburg, Va., doesn’t move nan needle much.

Notre Dame has 3 victories complete last-place power-conference teams: Purdue of nan Big Ten; Arkansas of nan SEC; and BC of nan ACC. The 2 different teams nan Irish person defeated, Boise State and North Carolina State, are some classed little successful nan Sagarin Ratings (56th and 47th, respectively) than James Madison (38th).

The imaginable redeeming grace for nan Cardinals is this: Even if nan committee doesn’t for illustration them aliases their conference, they tin unit their measurement into nan field. Make nan ACC title crippled and triumph it, and they’re locked in. The Irish person nary specified automatic path.

But they do person Notre Dame aura, Notre Dame instrumentality backing and Notre Dame ratings cache. If you’re putting together a bracket for maximum TV impact, you want nan Irish successful it.

I’m not saying that was a deciding factor. But I americium saying that nan highest-ranked two-loss squad Tuesday was nan Irish. And they were up of 3 one-loss teams from nan ACC.

Along those lines, nan clearest connection from nan committee was that it is wildly unimpressed by nan ACC, which did not person a awesome nonconference tally and has been wounded by nan flops from Florida State and Clemson. (The 2 schools that raised beatified hellhole successful nan convention to summation unequal gross distribution because they believed they were acold superior to everyone other are presently successful 15th spot and tied for 12th, respectively.) The Big 12, which cleaned up connected head-to-head matchups pinch nan ACC, was rewarded pinch 3 teams being classed up of nan apical ACC program.

The different message—less clear, but noticeable—was that each nan squawking astir spot of schedule didn’t lead to an overthrow of nan position quo. The committee still mostly classed teams on win-loss lines.

The apical 3 (Ohio State, Indiana and Texas A&M) are undefeated. Then came 3 one-loss teams (Alabama, Georgia and Mississippi). Then came nan past unbeaten, BYU, followed by 2 much one-loss teams (Texas Tech and Oregon). After that came nan parade of two-loss teams, led by Notre Dame.

The Irish sewage nan positioning they were hoping for Tuesday nighttime to make nan playoff for a 2nd consecutive season. Even if location were different teams much deserving of that No. 10 ranking.

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