Notre Dame & the College Football Playoff: 5 Irish thoughts on the first 2025 rankings

NCAAF College Football News, Photos, Stats, Scores, Schedule & Videos...

It was a good night for Notre Dame, as it found out that the College Football Playoff committee has them as one of the top-12 teams in the country.

The Irish checked in as the No. 10 team, above one of the teams they lost to earlier in the year (more on that later). It’s a great seed to have, as Notre Dame wouldn’t have to face the top overall seed until the championship round.

We learned plenty about Notre Dame and the CFP, and here are the five biggest things that stick out to me.

Notre Dame’s loss to Miami is irrelevant now

One of the bigger surprises of this rankings was where the committee had Miami, all the way down at No. 18. Notre Dame’s season-opening loss to the Hurricanes really doesn’t mean much at this point. The Irish are already above them, and the two team’s are trending in different directions. Notre Dame isn’t getting penalized for this loss.

USC is a good victory for Notre Dame

Right below Miami are the Trojans, who comprise of Notre Dame’s only top-25 win this fall. Pittsburgh is No. 24, but the Irish won’t play them for two weeks. The Irish would love to see USC continue to win, but its schedule does get much tougher over the next few weeks. They’ll take on No. 20 Iowa at home then travel to No. 9 Oregon, with Northwestern and UCLA sandwiched around the top-25 matchups. If the Trojans can go 3-1 in their last four, it wouldn’t hurt Notre Dame’s perception.

Texas A&M helps Notre Dame’s strength of schedule

It is still a loss on Notre Dame’s resume, but right now it’s a very good one. Sure, they’re behind both Big Ten teams in Ohio State and Indiana, but as the only SEC undefeated team, the Aggies look like a shoo-in to make the field. That only helps Notre Dame’s cause, even if Texas A&M drops a game or two.

Hypothetical current bracket

This would be the dream bracket, as the Irish could get a “warmup” game against BYU, who I think would be the underdog despite being the higher seed. Then Notre Dame would take on Indiana again, and if they continue to win, Texas A&M in the semifinals. They could right the wrong from earlier in the year, and then exact revenge on Ohio State in the National Championship. That would be quite the run, and while it most likely won’t happen this way, not because the Irish couldn’t do it, as the rankings will change over the course of the next few weeks as the season plays itself out.

Confirmation that if Notre Dame win’s out, it’s in

To me this is the biggest positive for Notre Dame being ranked No. 10 from the onset, as long as they don’t drop another game, they’re going to be in the field. Memphis taking the No. 12 seed and Virginia as the No. 11 doesn’t give the Irish much a of a cushion, but moving up and potentially having another top-25 win with Pitt in a few weeks, would help the seeding. Teams will lose as well, so it’s pretty safe to say, if Notre Dame win’s out, they’re in the College Football Playoff.

Contact/Follow us @IrishWireND on X (Formerly Twitter), and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Notre Dame news, notes, and opinions.

Follow Mike on X: @MikeFChen

This article originally appeared on Fighting Irish Wire: Notre Dame & CFP: Initial thoughts following the first rankings of ‘25

More at NCAAF College Football News, Photos, Stats, Scores, Schedule & Videos