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

Case for Notre Dame

The case for the Irish is quite simple. They are already ranked in the top four. If they win out and are standing at 11-1, they should be a lock to make their first appearance in the playoff.

Winning out will not be simple. First the Irish must travel to undefeated Miami. The Hurricanes are waiting to avenge last year’s loss to the Irish and keep their own playoff hopes alive. Following Miami is a home game against 5-3 Navy. The Midshipmen will play tough, but this should be a win for the Irish. Finally Notre Dame concludes their season at Stanford. A west coast trip will not be easy and the Cardinal have one of the best running backs in the country in Bryce Love. Despite both of those factors, Notre Dame will still be favored.

If Notre Dame wins out, they will be 11-1 and have wins over a top 10 opponent and two top 15 teams. Their one loss will have been by one point to Georgia, who now is the number one team in the country. Despite not having a conference championship, their victories are a resume booster. Notre Dame scheduled and beat some of the better teams in the country.

It also does not hurt to have one of the better quarterback and running back tandems in the country. Brandon Wimbush is a great dual threat quarterback and running back Josh Adams is in the Heisman discussion. They are helping the Irish to rank as the fifth best rushing team in the country.