How a 'Rebuilding Year' for Notre Dame led them to the College Football Playoffs... possibly

Chris Dailey

Founder, The Sports Court

Matt Cashore-USA TODAY Sports

The year is 2021, and Notre Dame still hasn’t earned respect from many fans around the country.

Despite being the closest team to Alabama all season (losing by 17 points, every other team Alabama played lost by more than 17 points), Notre Dame was still laughed at and mocked by their college football peers.

However, Brian Kelly didn’t listen to the outsiders and has continued to build upon the foundation he’s made at Notre Dame. Even despite the Irish’s all-time win leader at the QB position in Ian Book leaving, Kelly has managed to string together win after win.

Throughout the 2021 season thus far, Notre Dame has fallen to only the number 4 Cincinnati Bearcats. However, as the old college football saying goes, “if you’re going to lose, do it early.”

Luckily, Notre Dame lost at the right time, and they’re now in a great position to make the college football playoffs.

Despite all the losses they had, despite the fact many saw it as a rebuilding year for the Irish, Notre Dame has over a 50% chance of making it to the college football playoff for the third time in history, a remarkable feat.

The current college football rankings are Georgia, Ohio State, Alabama, Cincinnati, Michigan, and the Notre Dame Fighting Irish at the six spot in the rankings.

This upcoming week, Ohio State and Michigan, both of whom have one loss, will play each other. If Notre Dame wins against Stanford, that will bump Notre Dame up to the 5 spot.

However, the team at 5 is the first team out. Luckily for Notre Dame, Georgia and Alabama will play in the SEC Championship game. If Alabama loses, it’s nearly certain Notre Dame will move up to the number 4 spot. However, if Alabama wins and Georgia loses, the Irish will have a 50-50 chance of getting in as it’s very likely the committee will go with a one-loss Georgia over a one-loss Notre Dame.

Regardless, Jack Coan and the Fighting Irish will need to take care of business away from home against a 3-8 Stanford team who are looking forward to the chance of putting a dent in the national championship hopes of their arch-nemesis.

Overall, Notre Dame fans have a lot of football to look forward to over the next few weeks as many games can help decide Notre Dame’s fate in the final rankings.