College Football Playoff 2017: Case for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish

SOUTH BEND, IN - NOVEMBER 04: Brandon Wimbush #7 of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish passes against the Wake Forest Demon Deacons at Notre Dame Stadium on November 4, 2017 in South Bend, Indiana. Notre Dame defeated Wake Forest 48-37. (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images) /

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Notre Dame football could crash the College Football Playoff. What has to happen for the Irish to make the final four?

A year ago, Brian Kelly and Notre Dame were suffering through a 4-8 season. It was Kelly’s worst season as head coach since 2004 when he was at Central Michigan. Coming into the 2017 season, the expectations were the Irish should be better, but the pressure was on Kelly to deliver.

The Irish opened the season with a dominating win over Temple. The following week against Georgia ended in a sour, one point loss. Notre Dame cruised over their opponents the next four weeks, with an average win margin of over 26 points.

After an off week, the Irish would face their toughest tests of the season in back to back weeks. First up was a date with one-loss Southern Cal and Notre Dame had no problem with the Trojans, rolling them at home 49-14. The next week, one-loss NC State would pay South Bend a visit. The Irish again convincingly beat a tough opponent, this time 35-14. To conclude the home stand, Notre Dame would beat Wake Forest 48-37.

Now at 8-1, Notre Dame has ranked third in the first two weeks of the College Football Playoff rankings. The Irish are poised to bust up the party from the Power 5 conferences and earn one of the final four spots.

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