Notre Dame playoff scenarios, explained: How BYU, Alabama losses impact CFP rankings
NCAAF College Football News, Photos, Stats, Scores, Schedule & Videos...
Notre Dame playoff scenarios, explained: How BYU, Alabama losses impact CFP rankings originally appeared on The Sporting News.
Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
No. 10 Notre Dame was the last at-large team in the College Football Playoff field, according to the next-to-last College Football Playoff rankings.
Will the Irish stay there after conference championship weekend? It’s bound to be one of the hottest debates of the final weekend of the 2025 college football regular season. Notre Dame — an independent FBS team — could either benefit or lose out on a second straight College Football Playoff as a result.
The debate with Notre Dame (10-2) and No. 12 Miami (10-2) is one piece of that conversation. Will it rekindle one more time ahead of the final CFP rankings on Sunday?
No. 9 Alabama (10-3) is another wrinkle in the argument. The Crimson Tide lost 28-7 in the SEC championship game to No. 3 Georgia on Saturday. That could lead to committee taking Miami and Notre Dame and leaving Alabama out. That is a very-real scenario.
Get ready to argue. Notre Dame's potential playoff seeding could vary based on the result of this weekend's matchups. Here's a look at the Irish's College Football Playoff outlook heading into selection weekend.
MORE: Picks against the spread for championship weekend
Is Notre Dame in the College Football Playoff?
Notre Dame has a compelling case as a 10-2 team heading into the final weekend, but the debate with Miami continues. The Hurricanes beat the Irish 27-24 in the season opener, and the teams have comparable strength of schedules and common opponents because of Notre Dame's arrangement with the ACC.
Notre Dame has maintained the upper hand in the CFP rankings throughout the process, but could that argument heat up one more time? Just because the Irish are ranked ahead of the Hurricanes now does not mean that will be the case in the final rankings, especially since neither team plays on conference championship weekend. We still think the Irish will stay ahead of Miami.
What about Alabama? The Crimson Tide lost the SEC championship game, but they were ranked ahead of the Irish before the weekend. Will not playing in a Power 4 conference hurt Notre Dame?
MORE: Why isn't Notre Dame football in a conference?
Notre Dame playoff scenarios
Here is a look at how Notre Dame's College Football Playoff seeding could be impacted by the other conference championship games on Sunday:
Texas Tech beat BYU 34-7 in the Big 12 championship game
The Red Raiders eliminated the Cougars, who sit at 11-2, from the CFP picture. Will the committee drop BYU and put Notre Dame and Miami back-to-back in the final CFP rankings?
Georgia beat Alabama 28-7 in SEC championship game
This should drop the Crimson Tide behind Notre Dame in the rankings, which creates a three-way argument with Miami and Alabama for the final two spots.
MORE: Where does Marcus Freeman rank among the highest-paid coaches in the sport?
Does the ACC championship game impact Notre Dame's CFP chances?
Duke beat No. 17 Virginia 27-20 in the ACC championship game. The Blue Devils, however, have five losses. That puts the ACC in danger of not having a CFP team.
No. 20 Tulane beat No. 24 Texas 34-21 in the American Conference championship to clinch a spot. No. 25 James Madison will be the fifth-highest ranked team out of the Sun Belt because the Dukes beat Troy 31-14 in the Sun Belt championship game.
That means the ACC would run a strong campaign for Miami to be the final at-large team, and the committee has to pick two out of Notre Dame, Alabama and Miami. Remember what happened with Florida State in 2023? Don't rule anything out with these three teams.
College Football Playoff bracket 2025
Notre Dame is the No. 9 seed and would have a rematch with No. 8 Oklahoma in the first round of the College Football Playoff, based on our final CFP projections.
More at NCAAF College Football News, Photos, Stats, Scores, Schedule & Videos