Notre Dame’s College Football Playoff hopes are still very much alive, and Sunday’s AP Top 25 gave the Irish a little proof of that.
After falling 28-24 to BYU on Saturday night, Notre Dame dropped only two spots, sliding from No. 2 to No. 4 in the latest poll. That keeps Marcus Freeman and Co. in striking distance of a first-round bye if the CFP Poll slots them just as high.
The easy explanation for why the Irish didn’t tumble harder? They were hardly the only heavyweight to get knocked around.
On the same day Notre Dame lost to No. 8 BYU, No.
1 Georgia, No. 5 Indiana, No.
6 Alabama, and No. 7 Texas all went down too.
No. 11 Utah and No.
12 UCLA also had to sweat through close calls against unranked teams, and No. 3 Miami needed double overtime to survive unranked Florida State.
For Notre Dame, that crowded pileup at the top kept the damage manageable. The Irish have long been scrutinized for their schedule, whether that criticism always fits or not, but the bigger story right now is simpler: there just aren’t many truly dominant teams in college football this season.
That doesn’t mean Notre Dame escaped Saturday with no questions. The Irish may not be quite as good as many thought, and there are still real concerns about how Chris Ash called the game against BYU.
There are also serious questions about CJ Carr and whether he can elevate his play when Notre Dame needs it most. Even with all the attention the coaches have poured into the receiver group, that unit remains part of the conversation too.
Still, the Irish are talented, and it remains difficult to imagine them trailing most of the teams in the sport.
Before kickoff, there was plenty of talk that Notre Dame’s November 7 meeting with Miami could have been a battle of 1 versus 2. As things stand now, it would be 2 versus 4.
With a bye week coming up Saturday, Notre Dame has time to clean up the issues exposed against BYU. For now, though, the AP ranking keeps the Irish firmly in the CFP picture. They just have to start looking sharper against ranked opponents if they want to stay on that path.
In Other News...
Notre Dames BYU Loss Just Got Even More Infuriating
The sting from Notre Dames loss at BYU got sharper when the Big 12 acknowledged that an officiating error affected the games final sequence. One second remained on the clock, but it was not properly accounted for, and the replay crew incorrectly cleared the play that ended the game. For Notre Dame, that meant no extra snap on 2nd and goal and no chance to keep pushing for a late score.
The conference said it will review its end-of-game officiating process after the incident, a step that may matter less to the Irish than the result already does. In a tight game, one second is more than a technicality, and the acknowledgment only adds to the frustration over how it ended. [Read more 🡒]
Notre Dame Just Got A Painful Reminder About Its Biggest Problem
Notre Dame got a stark reminder in Provo that the margin for error remains slim, even when the offense does enough to keep the game alive. At LaVell Edwards Stadium, the Irish spent most of the night chasing Brigham Young before briefly grabbing the lead late, only to watch the Cougars answer with under two minutes left in a 28-24 loss.
The result fit a familiar frustration for Notre Dame, which again found itself in a tight game where one stop, one clean sequence or one timely play could have changed the outcome. A significant defensive ejection added to the tension, and the late comeback bid had the kind of urgency the Irish needed, but not quite enough finish to turn it into a road win. [Read more 🡒]
Marcus Freeman Addresses What Went Wrong In Notre Dame's Costly Loss
Marcus Freeman spent his postgame time going straight to the two areas that hurt Notre Dame most in a costly loss to BYU: defensive discipline and red-zone execution. The defeat snapped the Irish's 16-game winning streak, and Freeman pointed to the problems BYU's misdirection offense created while also acknowledging that Notre Dame left points on the field with missed chances near the goal line.
Freeman also noted the adjustments the Irish tried to make after halftime, but the broader concern remains the same one that follows any tight loss to a quality opponent: execution in critical moments. For Notre Dame, the answer is not about effort or intent as much as cleaning up the details that determine whether a promising drive becomes a field goal, a touchdown or nothing at all. [Read more 🡒]