‘Notre Dame’ drops to #10 in College Football Playoff rankings, just above being eliminated; Irish would play at Texas A&M in first round, then go up against Indiana

The last nonbinding, interim College Football Playoff (CFP) rankings of the season were released Tuesday evening, to be followed next Sunday by the rankings that actually set the playoff pairings.

Despite winning big on the road last Saturday, the Fighting Irish dropped to #10, as Alabama climbed to #9 after narrowly beating an Auburn team with a losing record.

‘Notre Dame’ is actually quietly on the edge of elimination, since two of the five automatic bids for conference champions seem destined for teams ranked (much) lower than 12th.  That would leave only ten spots remaining, and the Irish are right at 10th.

If the playoff bracket were formed today, #10 seed ‘Notre Dame’ would have a rematch with #7-seed Texas A&M in the first round, this time at College Station. The winner would play #2-seed Indiana next. However, multiple teams ranked ahead of the Irish square off next weekend in conference title games, possibly shaking up the final rankings and selections.

They include #2 Indiana itself taking on #1 Ohio State; #3 Georgia in a rematch with #9 Alabama (with the Crimson Tide already having two losses); and #4 Texas Tech in a rematch with #11 BYU.

[more coverage below the rankings]

– College Football Playoff Rankings –

1. Ohio State 12-0 – B1G
2. Indiana 12-0 – B1G
3. Georgia 11-1 – SEC
4. Texas Tech 11-1 – Big 12
5. Oregon 11-1 – B1G
6. Ole Miss 11-1 – SEC
7. Texas A&M 11-1* – SEC
8. Oklahoma 10-2 – SEC
9. Alabama 10-2 – SEC
10. ‘Notre Dame‘ 10-2 – Ind.
11. BYU 11-1 – Big 12
12. Miami (Fla.) 10-2 – ACC
13. Texas 9-3 – SEC
14. Vanderbilt 10-2 – SEC
15. Utah 10-2 – Big 12
16. USC 10-2 – B1G
17. Virginia 10-2 – ACC
18. Arizona 9-3 – Big 12
19. Michigan 9-3 – B1G
20. Tulane 10-2 – American
21. Houston 9-3 – Big 12
22. Georgia Tech 9-3 – ACC
23. Iowa 8-4 – B1G
24. North Texas 11-1 – American
25. James Madison 11-1 – Sun Belt

[‘Notre Dame’ and Irish opponents in boldface]

(* Interestingly enough, of course, in ‘Notre Dame’s’ first game with Texas A&M, the Irish actually won on the field, with a game-altering blown call by SEC officials handing an artificial win to the Aggies. On the would-be “winning” 4th-down touchdown for Texas A&M with 13 seconds left, an Aggie offensive lineman essentially tackled an Irish pass rusher from behind as the defender was barreling in on the quarterback, while the official most responsible for that area was looking away, for no apparent reason, and no other officials made the call.)

Of note is the inclusion of #25 James Madison, seemingly destined for a 12-1 record and Sun Belt Conference championship.

Conference title-game participants for the ACC, American, and Sun Belt conferences — of whom only two winners can qualify for the fourth and fifth automatic CFP bids — are all ranked 17th to 25th, joined by two additional participants currently unranked.

So the two highest-ranked conference title winners from those three games would grab spots that otherwise could have gone to #11 and #12.  But instead the remaining CFP bids would go no lower than #10, where the Irish now sit.

Added complications could come about if #11 BYU narrowly beat #4 TCU, and if BYU climbed while TCU did not fall far enough.  On the other hand, if Alabama loses this time to Georgia, after beating them earlier in the year, the Crimson Tide would have three losses, which might drop them far enough to eliminate them.

(SCW 12.2.25)