Notre Dame Football: 5 reasons Irish will handle USC

Last chance to impress

This game against the USC Trojans will be the Irish’s last opportunity to impress the College Football Playoff Committee. Because the committee claims that conference championships are part of the selection criteria, the Irish are automatically at a disadvantage. Given that Notre Dame does not have a conference championship opportunity, the final game of the season essentially serves as their championship game.

The Irish will be putting everything on the line in this game because they know it is the final thing they can do to ensure they secure a playoff spot. And depending on what Clemson does in their last two games, Notre Dame may have the possibility of moving up to No. 2 in the rankings if they have a convincing win against the Trojans.

After this game, the Irish will have nearly a month off until the first game of the College Football Playoff. They will leave everything out on the field, even if they get out to an early lead, because they know they will have plenty of time to rest.