Notre Dame Football: 5 overreactions for Fighting Irish in first half of 2017

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EAST LANSING, MI – SEPTEMBER 23: Dexter Williams #2 of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish scores a second quarter touchdown a celebrates with his teammates during the game against the Michigan State Spartans at Spartan Stadium on September 23, 2017 in East Lansing, Michigan. (Photo by Leon Halip/Getty Images) /

1. Notre Dame is a real playoff contender

Is this an overreaction? Honestly, it’s too early to tell. The Fighting Irish have had their way with Temple, Boston College and Miami (OH) so far this season. They also took down a suddenly-hot Michigan State team on the road, but the jury is still out on how good the Spartans are this season. Lastly, they beat a struggling North Carolina team in Week 6.

The Fighting Irish’s only loss on the year was a one-point home defeat at the hands of the Georgia Bulldogs. Right now, people are talking about how Georgia might be the biggest threat to Alabama’s throne in the SEC. If that holds true, Notre Dame will look that much better.

The playoff rankings are not far from being released, but Notre Dame currently sits at No. 16 in the AP poll. I’ll say it’s too early to call them playoff contenders, but if the Irish come out of the bye week and beat USC, we can finally call them a top-10 team.

Next: NFL Mock Draft 2018: First round after Week 6

Right now, I’d say Notre Dame is a New Year’s Six caliber team with potential playoff talent, but it still needs to prove itself against teams like USC, NC State, Miami, Navy and Stanford — all remain on the schedule.

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