Notre Dame’s CFB Playoff resume took a near disastrous hit even while blowing out a ranked Pitt Panther team on the road
Notre Dame escaped a near disastrous resume hit this week.
If college football has taught us anything over the last couple of years, especially since the introduction of the transfer portal and the NIL landscape, it is that it’s an unpredictable and extremely volatile world. In a week when Notre Dame football dominated a ranked Pitt Panther team on the road 37 to 15, Fighting Irish fans had to sweat it out, while partially watching an unlikely upset.
Head coach Marcus Freeman and his Irish squad would be in the college football playoffs if the season ended today, sitting at No. 9 in the most recent ranking this past week. After the win over Pitt, Notre Dame has now won eight straight games to push its record to 8-2. Beating another ranked team only strengthened its resume to make the field. Unfortunately for the Irish, the losses are a part of the resume, and it makes the push for “quality losses” an extremely interesting part of the equation.
As of today, Notre Dame’s 41-40 loss to the Texas A&M Aggies in the second game of the season was a huge missed opportunity, but the Aggies being undefeated and ranked at No.3 in the country has certainly strengthened their case to make the playoffs. It is a strange feeling, but Fighting Irish supporters need to continue rooting for the Aggies to keep winning. That quality loss is helping to build their case heading into the postseason. Without it, they would take quite a hit.
There weren’t many who believed that the South Carolina Gamecocks were good enough to give the Aggies a tough game. They did just that, and the 3-7 Gamecocks held a 30-3 lead at halftime. While it was unlikely, quarterback Marcel Reed and Texas A&M mounted an unbelievable comeback. They would score the last 28 points in the game, coming out with a 31-30 victory. It wasn’t pretty, but the Aggies maintained their undefeated record.
Notre Dame’s path toward the playoffs
It wouldn’t have been a death blow if the Aggies lost, but it would have made the Irish road toward the playoffs a bit more difficult. With Texas A&M losing to a bad football team, it would have drastically altered the perception of them.
Instead, most people will chalk it up to being a really bad first half, but they would also tell themselves that we saw the next version of the team during the final 30 minutes of the contest. Whether we like it or not, perception matters, even if it is for a past opponent.
At the end of the day, I believe that CJ Carr, Jeremiyah Love, and the Fighting Irish will earn a spot in the playoffs if they win their last two games. Notre Dame brings a natural appeal for the big brand, and it has been improving throughout the season.
If Freeman’s group is playing its best football when the postseason begins, the Irish can be an extremely tough out against anyone. It would, however, be nice if this were a somewhat stress-free last couple of weeks for Notre Dame, both in terms of its performances and the teams it needs to win, especially in the games it should.
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