Notre Dame Barely Cracks Top 10 in First College Football Playoff Rankings

Notre Dame Under Armour Uniform

Notre Dame stood on the outside looking in on Tuesday night as the selection committee for the first college football playoff unveiled their rankings. The top four teams will make it to the playoffs.

The Irish stood at a distant tenth place, three slots below where the Associated Press pegged them and two slots behind the USA Today Coaches’ poll. Neither the AP poll nor the USA Today Coaches’ poll are factored into the committee’s rankings.

Notre Dame’s only loss came at the hands of #2 Florida State in Tallahassee after a controversial last second call. ND — which was ranked #5 in the country — fell to #7 in the AP rankings after the FSU loss.

It’s not clear how the committee concluded that teams like Michigan State, Kansas State and TCU deserved higher rankings. Michigan State has only won against one ranked opponent (Nebraska) and lost decisively to Oregon. Kansas State’s only win over a ranked opponent was Oklahoma; they lost to Auburn. TCU has a better case, having beaten two ranked teams: Oklahoma State in a blowout and Oklahoma. Their one loss was to Baylor.

Notre Dame’s sole ranked win was against Stanford but their one loss was a four point squeaker against the #2 team in the country on the road. Their struggles against unranked opponents Syracuse and North Carolina likely factored into the decision.

The selection committee will meet each week to release a new set of rankings. Notre Dame still stands a good chance to move up as a number of the teams above them play each other.

The committee’s top 25 rankings are below:

1. Mississippi State 7-0
2. Florida State 7-0
3. Auburn 6-1
4. Ole Miss 7-1
5. Oregon 7-1
6. Alabama 7-1
7. TCU 6-1
8. Michigan State 7-1
9. Kansas State 6-1
10. Notre Dame 6-1
11. Georgia 6-1
12. Arizona 6-1
13. Baylor 6-1
14. Arizona State 6-1
15. Nebraska 7-1
16. Ohio State 6-1
17. Utah 6-1
18. Oklahoma 5-2
19. LSU 7-2
20. West Virginia 6-2
21. Clemson 6-2
22. UCLA 6-2
23. East Carolina 6-1
24. Duke 6-1
25. Louisville 6-2

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