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College Football Playoff Projections 2018: Official ranks loom after Week 9

By John Mitchell

NEW ORLEANS, LA - JANUARY 01: Head coach Nick Saban of the Alabama Crimson Tide and head coach Dabo Swinney of the Clemson Tigers greet after the AllState Sugar Bowl at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome on January 1, 2018 in New Orleans, Louisiana. (Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images)
NEW ORLEANS, LA - JANUARY 01: Head coach Nick Saban of the Alabama Crimson Tide and head coach Dabo Swinney of the Clemson Tigers greet after the AllState Sugar Bowl at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome on January 1, 2018 in New Orleans, Louisiana. (Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images) /
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(Photo by Kent Horner/Getty Images)
(Photo by Kent Horner/Getty Images) /

4. Notre Dame (8-0)

The Fighting Irish control their own destiny in the playoff race, and they continued their perfect season by cruising to a 44-22 win over Navy in South Bend on Saturday night.

Slotting them at number four would be a spot lower than their current ranking in both the AP and Coaches Polls, but I think it is likely given a few factors. The Irish have a massive resume win, a 24-17 decision over Michigan in the season opener at home; a win that looks better and better with each passing week as the Wolverines make their own playoff push.

But the committee will also look at the Irish’s struggles against the likes of Ball State, Vanderbilt, and Pittsburgh and take that into account when ranking the top teams.

Save for some struggles against Pitt, the Notre Dame offense has been rolling since Brian Kelly made the decision to hand the reins over to Ian Book at QB. Book has completed over 75% of his passes with 13 touchdowns and four interceptions across five starts.

Notre Dame will be favored in all of their remaining games, but they do still have road games remaining at Northwestern and USC as well as home tilts against Florida State and Syracuse. It would take an upset for Notre Dame to be knocked off, but they have shown a propensity to play down to their competition at times, which could end up nipping them in November.

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