Notre Dame Football Week 11 Rooting Guide: Penn State on fraud alert, upset watch, and a historic rivalry
Notre Dame football enters a must-win stretch of their season. Currently sitting with a 7-1 overall record and the No. 10 ranking in the college football playoffs, there is no margin for error remaining. If the Irish win, then they will be in the playoffs, clearly. That’s the main priority, defeating Florida State this weekend […]
Notre Dame football enters a must-win stretch of their season. Currently sitting with a 7-1 overall record and the No. 10 ranking in the college football playoffs, there is no margin for error remaining. If the Irish win, then they will be in the playoffs, clearly. That’s the main priority, defeating Florida State this weekend and ending the last few weeks on a strong note.
When the final ranking does come out, the landscape is going to look a lot differently. For Notre Dame, how other teams fare around them will help to really solidify that playoff standing. We know they will be in if they take care of business, but where will they be slotted and who should Irish fans be rooting for this weekend?
Michigan at (8) Indiana
There were several teams in front of Notre Dame that you could have argued should have been behind the Irish in the first college football playoff ranking. While Indiana is undefeated, they don’t really have a quality win under their belt either. Right now, their best victory is against either Nebraska or Washington, both of which sit at 5-4. One loss would kill their resume, especially if they were upset by someone like this struggling Michigan team.
(9) BYU at Utah
On paper, this game shouldn’t be overly close. BYU heads into the game undefeated at 8-0. On the other side, Utah has been a major dud this season. Their offense is in disarray, and their defense hasn’t been great either. At the end of the day, this is a rivalry game, and crazy stuff can happen. The Cougars do have a very good win over SMU earlier this season, but that’s really what the resume rests on. Losing to a team like Utah would knock them down considerably.
Washington at (6) Penn State
Quite frankly, Penn State being ranked above Notre Dame is a pretty big joke. The best part of their resume is a close loss to Ohio State, but if you really watched the football game, you know that the Buckeyes thoroughly outplayed the Nittany Lions. If not for a pick six, and fumble going into the end zone, that game isn’t even remotely close. Quality of wins is supposed to be the main criteria for the ranking, and Penn State’s best win so far is against… Illinois?
