ESPN’s Heather Dinich is giving Notre Dame a bump in her latest College Football Playoff projection, even though the Fighting Irish haven’t budged in the national polls.
Notre Dame sits at No. 3 in both the US LBM Coaches Poll and the Associated Press poll after starting 4-0, but Dinich moved the Irish from No. 6 to No. 5 following Week 4. What stands out most to her is Notre Dame’s 3-0 record against Big 10 opponents, a stretch that includes double-digit wins over Wisconsin, Michigan State and Purdue.
CJ Carr’s performance in Saturday’s 49-10 win over the Boilermakers also helped the case. The quarterback threw four touchdowns against Purdue and now has just one interception through four games.
“And two of their four (wins) have come outside of South Bend,” Dinich added. “Saturday's game at Purdue was a complete effort, as the Irish made game-changing plays in all three phases.
Notre Dame's defense continues to show it's one of the best in the country. The group constantly pressured Purdue quarterback Ryan Browne, who at one point in the first half was sacked three times in six snaps.
Dinich also pointed out that Notre Dame got through September unbeaten for the first time under Marcus Freeman.
Notre Dame also managed to avoid “any embarrassing upset like it did against NIU (2024), and playing from behind like it did after last year's 0-2 start,” Dinich added.
“That's an important cushion with games against BYU and Miami still looming,” she continued.
Dinich called the Nov. 7 matchup with Miami the toughest remaining game on Notre Dame’s regular-season schedule. The Hurricanes beat the Irish 27-24 last season.
Next up for Notre Dame is North Carolina on Saturday at noon.
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