Notre Dame Holds Firm At No. 3 In College Football Playoff Rankings
Notre Dame (10-0) keeps winning and keeps holding firm at the No. 3 spot in the College Football Playoff Rankings.
The top four remained the same for the second straight week as Alabama, Clemson, Notre Dame and Michigan, in fact, the Top 10 remained the same for the first time in the College Football Playoff era.
After the playoff rankings were released…Notre Dame was analyzed and analyzed.
“I thought Notre Dame was the one team of all the teams that isn’t playing against an opponent, but they are playing against themselves and against perfection,” stated Kirk Herbstreit. “They haven’t had that marquee opponent outside of Michigan. They’ve had big name brands, including USC, who is hanging on at the end of the year. Notre Dame, maybe not this week, because Syracuse has a higher ranking, but they need a stronger statement at the end to solidify themselves in case there is nasty stuff if Georgia upsets Alabama. They want to make sure they are safe and in the clubhouse.”
The ESPN crew also addressed the adversity Notre Dame has faced over the last week with starting quarterback Ian Book injury status.
“It’s a compliment to Notre Dame,” stated Jesse Palmer. “A lot of programs in the country that if their starting quarterback went down, they would struggle. The one thing about Florida State is they had a very athletic defense that gave people fits.”
Palmer also gave credit to the Notre Dame offense for putting 42 points on the board and dominating the Florida State defense, despite the Noles record.
“Notre Dame’s offensive had their best game of the season,” Palmer said. “They didn’t give up a sack and ran for 365 yards. You can come away from that win against Florida State and be even more impressed with Notre Dame.”
David Pollack also spoke up for the Irish as he gave them credit for a big win on the road against a team headed to the Big Ten Championship Game.
“Northwestern is in the Top 25, and they took care of Northwestern easily,” Pollack stated. “It was a dominating performance. I get Michigan is playing like this, and Notre Dame is playing like this. If you look at Notre Dame’s roster, where are the holes? There aren’t any holes? They do everything really well. They might not do anything great, but they do everything well.”
Finally, the selection committee felt Notre Dame took care of business and got credit for winning big with Brandon Wimbush.
“When you look at Notre Dame, we see a team that took care of business this week with a backup quarterback and a strong defense,” said Selection Committee Chair Rob Mullens.