‘Notre Dame’ climbs to #9 in College Football Playoff rankings; would play at Oregon in first round, then have rematch with Ohio State

The second College Football Playoff rankings were released Tuesday evening, with the Fighting Irish climbing to #9, their same ranking as in the most recent AP Poll and Coaches Poll. Their rise was attributable to BYU’s big loss to Texas Tech and the big Irish win over Navy.

If the playoff bracket were formed today, #9 seed ‘Notre Dame’ would be playing at #8-seed Oregon in the first round, with the winner playing #1-seed Ohio State next.

– College Football Playoff Rankings –

1 Ohio State 9-0
2 Indiana 10-0
3 Texas A&M 9-0*
4 Alabama 8-1
5 Georgia 8-1
6 Texas Tech 9-1
7 Ole Miss 9-1
8 Oregon 8-1
9 ‘Notre Dame‘ 7-2
10 Texas 7-2
11 Oklahoma 7-2
12 BYU 8-1
13 Utah 7-2
14 Vanderbilt 8-2
15 Miami (Fla.) 7-2
16 Georgia Tech 8-1
17 USC 7-2
18 Michigan 7-2
19 Virginia 8-2
20 Louisville 7-2
21 Iowa 6-3
22 Pittsburgh 7-2
23 Tennessee 6-3
24 South Florida 7-2
25 Cincinnati 7-2

[‘Notre Dame’ and Irish opponents in boldface]

The five highest-ranked conference champions receive automatic bids into the 12-team field regardless of ranking. With Memphis of the American Athletic Conference (AAC) losing and dropping down, the committee managed to find a ranking for the AAC’s South Florida.  However, if it was the AAC conference champion that received the fifth automatic bid, it would be the actual winner of the AAC conference title game claiming that slot.

(* Texas A&M wins include one where the winning touchdown in the final seconds was essentially the result of cheating, when, on the Aggies’ last offensive play of the game, an Aggie offensive lineman tackled a pass rusher from behind as he was barreling towards the quarterback; but an SEC officiating crew ignored the penalty and did not throw a flag; without the cheating and/or the non-call, the Aggies likely would be 8-1)

(SCW 11.11.25)