Notre Dame Remains At No. 9 In The Latest College Football Playoff Rankings

The latest batch of College Football Playoff rankings was released and there was no movement for Notre Dame, who remains at No. 9 in the latest rankings. That was an expected move, but it also means the Irish are still just two spots away from potentially being left out of the playoffs. If the Irish are able to handle business against Stanford this weekend the Irish should remain in a good spot, but there still is the potential for chaos to knock them out.

The way the rankings are right now, the Top 10 teams are locks to be in the playoffs but No. 11 and No. 12 will get knocked out by the fourth and fifth conference champions. At this team that appears to be the winners of the ACC and American. If Notre Dame stays where they are now they will remain in the playoff, although they would likely not have a home playoff game without their own favorable chaos.

Notre Dame's resume did improve this week after Pittsburgh jumped back into the Top 25. The Panthers smacked Georgia Tech this weekend on the road, winning 42-28. Notre Dame beat Pitt by a 37-15 score the week prior, so the Irish now have a second ranked win. USC is ranked No. 17, dropping only two spots after losing to Oregon, which gives the Irish another Top 25 win. Notre Dame's two losses are to No. 3 Texas A&M and No. 12 Miami.

Playoff committee chair Hunter Yurachek said that Miami and Notre Dame were compared in this week's rankings and the Irish are still three spots ahead despite the Hurricanes having the head to head advantage. That bodes well for Notre Dame, as the Hurricanes only have one game remaining. The Hurricanes do play Pitt this weekend, and if Miami can beat the Panthers by a far more convincing manner than Notre Dame did the Hurricanes could have a stronger case over the Irish.

Notre Dame destroying Syracuse by a 70-7 score also helped improve the Irish resume.

1. Ohio State Buckeyes (11-0)2. Indiana Hoosiers (11-0)3. Texas A&M Aggies (11-0)4. Georgia Bulldogs (10-1)5. Texas Tech Red Raiders (10-1)6. Oregon Ducks (10-1)7. Ole Miss Rebels (10-1)8. Oklahoma Sooners (9-2)9. Notre Dame Fighting Irish (9-2)10. Alabama Crimson Tide (9-2)11. BYU Cougars (10-1)12. Miami Hurricanes (9-2)13. Utah Utes (9-2)14. Vanderbilt Commodores (9-2)15. Michigan Wolverines (9-2)16. Texas Longhorns (8-3)17. USC Trojans (8-3)18. Virginia Cavaliers (9-2)19. Tennessee Volunteers (8-3)20. Arizona State Sun Devils (8-3)21. SMU Mustangs (8-3)22. Pittsburgh Panthers (8-3)23. Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (9-2)24. Tulane Green Wave (9-2)25. Arizona Wildcats (8-3)

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