Notre Dame gets surprise prediction for first CFP bracket

The Notre Dame Fighting Irish are 10th in the AP Poll after a crucial win over Boston College last weekend.

However, the AP Poll is one thing, and it’s relatively meaningless to the College Football Playoff selection committee. The committee has its own ranking, and they’ll begin unveiling it Tuesday night.

From Week 11 onward, every team will know exactly where it stands. For Notre Dame, will that be in the top 12 after starting the season with two losses?

One insider thinks so.

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The Fighting Irish have won six in a row, putting the two crushing losses to top-ranked teams in the first two weeks firmly behind them. The committee for the CFP doesn’t necessarily forget, which is why there’s a chance that their win streak won’t help them stay in the top 12.

However, USA Today’s Blake Toppmeyer believes they will.

Toppmeyer thinks they’ll get the same rank as their AP Poll placement: 10th.

“When the Irish roll into selection Sunday boasting a 10-game win streak, that’ll weigh more heavily on the committee than the fact they started 0-2. Anyway, the committee can tamp down those two losses by virtue of them coming by a total of four points. CJ Carr could go down as Notre Dame’s best quarterback since … well, since a long time ago,” he wrote.

Texas A&M helps, Miami is beginning to hurt

The committee often places value on wins and losses, so a narrow victory over a bad opponent can hurt, and a close loss to a good opponent can hurt a little less.

Given that Texas A&M and Miami are both ranked teams, it’s a little bit excusable that the Irish lost both. Plus, as Toppmeyer mentioned, they lost by four combined points. Losses can’t help, but they can hurt less, and these losses appear poised to hurt less.

Interestingly enough, Texas A&M makes it in Toppmeyer’s prediction as the fourth team, so that helps Notre Dame out a lot. They lost to one of the best teams in the country, which shouldn’t take much away from the Irish.

The Miami loss looks worse as the season goes on because the Hurricanes have lost two of their last three games. They’ve tumbled out of the playoff range and are ranked 18th now. But that’s still one of the better teams in the NCAA.

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Source: https://www.chicitysports.com/notre-dame-gets-surprise-prediction-for-first-cfp-bracket