College Football Rankings: Notre Dame in the Playoff?
By Joe Wedra
The latest College Football rankings are out all across the county, and it’s no secret that Notre Dame is getting an extreme amount of hype for their potential in the coming weeks. The Fighting Irish have proven that they deserve the national attention and recognition as one of the best in the country, but will they be deserving of a spot on the College Football Playoff?
Let’s take a quick peek at their upcoming games, mapping out what could be an undefeated season.
11/1 @ Navy: Navy is a strong team that is built to compete. That triple-option offensive attack is a tough one to stop, but Notre Dame has the pieces on defense to keep up. This should be a big primetime win.
11/8 @ Arizona State: The Fighting Irish would feel a bit more confident if this one was at home. Arizona State is tremendous on offense, led by star receiver Jaelen Strong. Notre Dame can win this one, but it’ll take pressure on senior QB Taylor Kelly, and potential double-coverage up against Strong.
11/15 vs. Northwestern: This NW defense is the real deal, but their offense hasn’t been able to get much going as a unit this year. I trust that Notre Dame will take this game by double-digits due to a true balanced game-plan on both sides of the ball.
11/22 vs. Louisville: Even at home, this one doesn’t seem to be an easy win, either. Louisville has a stout ACC defense that is allowing just over 14 points per game this season. We’ll see what they do against Florida State tomorrow night, but they’ve proven to be a “tough out” this year. Even with injuries, the Cardinals are fighting. This could be a tough one for Everett Golson and Co.
11/29 vs. USC: USC will prove to be no easy task in the final game of the season. They are a few TDs away from being undefeated, as they’ve lost each of their three games by six points or less. Junior WR Nelson Agholor is one to watch here. He’s been tearing it up during the early part of the season.
Can Notre Dame do it? Anything’s possible… The schedule is a rough one, but there’s little reason to believe this tight-knit group can’t battle together and grind out some tough wins.