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

Case against Notre Dame

Despite the Irish only losing by one to Georgia, they have little margin of error. Losing another would cripple their playoff chances. Miami has the best chance to upset the Irish of their remaining opponents.

While not playing for a conference championship helps the Irish, it does cut both ways. Other teams will be playing a 13th game and have another chance to add a quality win to their resumes. Notre Dame will be sitting at home and watching the conference title games.

The other conferences will factor into Notre Dame’s playoff fate. There is a chance the SEC has two playoff teams, Alabama and Georgia, even when one will have to lose to the other in the SEC championship game. There is also the question of what to do with an undefeated Wisconsin. Could the Badgers take a playoff spot despite their resume not being as strong as some of the one loss teams? This will be an interesting debate among the committee if it comes to it.

As good as Brandon Wimbush and Josh Adams have been, they are now dealing with some minor injuries so they may not be 100 percent down the stretch. The injuries will be something to keep an eye on as the Irish conclude the season, but they have been able to escape any major injuries thus far.