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Notre Dame Football: Committee was right to include Irish in College Football Playoff Top 4

By Matthew Bartlett

SOUTH BEND, IN - OCTOBER 21: Notre Dame Fighting Irish players react on the sideline in the first quarter of a game against the USC Trojans at Notre Dame Stadium on October 21, 2017 in South Bend, Indiana. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images)
SOUTH BEND, IN - OCTOBER 21: Notre Dame Fighting Irish players react on the sideline in the first quarter of a game against the USC Trojans at Notre Dame Stadium on October 21, 2017 in South Bend, Indiana. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images) /
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Notre Dame football checked in at No. 3 in the first College Football Playoff rankings of the year. Here’s why the committee was right to include the Irish.

They weren’t on the nation radar at the beginning of the season, but Brian Kelly’s Notre Dame team has put themselves near the front of the College Football Playoff race entering Week 10. The Irish earned the No. 3 spot in the first release on the rankings on Halloween, and while some might scoff at their independent status, they’re absolutely deserving of their spot.

If the season ended today the Irish would be one of the four teams playing for the National Championship. They’re not a popular pick, but they belong at the top. Here are three reasons why the committee was right to include Notre Dame in the top four of the College Football Playoff rankings.

1. The Unbeatens are few and far between

There are three unbeaten Power 5 teams left – two of them checked into the top four of the initial Week 10 College Football Playoff Rankings. No. 1 Georgia and No. 2 Alabama seem like no-brainers. The omission of No. 9 Wisconsin from the Playoff field wasn’t terrible shocking, but even if you included them you’d still have one spot left for a one-loss team.

Notre Dame’s sole loss came at the hands of the No.1 team on the road by one point. If there’s any such thing as a quality loss, that’s it. Since there are enough unbeaten Power 5 teams to build an entire field of four, the committee had to start culling through resumes. Even then they found Wisconsin’s schedule to be lacking.

Clemson, the committee’s No. 4 team lost to Syracuse. If they’re the next best team after Notre Dame then it’s clear that the Irish are the creme of the crop when it comes to the nation’s one-loss teams.

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