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Notre Dame Football

Notre Dame Again Holds Steady At #3 In College Football Playoff Rankings

November 27, 2018
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The good news for college football fans is there will definitely be some intrigue and likely some debates in the final week of the regular season.

The better news for Notre Dame fans is the Irish are unlikely to be involved in either.

The latest edition of the College Football Playoff rankings was just released and Notre Dame remained at #3, as expected. With their regular season complete, the Irish (12-0) are unlikely to fall out of the top four regardless of what happens around them.

Alabama (12-0) remains #1 followed by Clemson (12-0) at #2, which has been the case since the first unveiling of the rankings a month ago.

Georgia (11-1) moved up one spot to #4, replacing Michigan, who was blown out by Ohio State on Saturday. The Bulldogs have a chance to clinch their spot in the final four this weekend, but it’ll be tough as they’ll likely need to beat the Crimson Tide to assure themselves of anything.

#5 Oklahoma (11-1) will be looking to jump into the Playoff by avenging its only loss against Texas in the Big 12 Championship on Saturday.

Meanwhile, the Buckeyes have worked themselves back into the hunt by virtue of their dismantling of Michigan. Ohio State (11-1) moved all of the way up to #6 from #10 and will look to make its case in the Big Ten Championship against Northwestern on Saturday.

The way the SEC, Big 12 and Big Ten title games play out could matter as much as the outcomes.

Could a close loss to #1 Alabama be enough to keep Georgia in the top four? Would the Crimson Tide remain in the top four even with a loss to the Bulldogs?

Is Oklahoma in with a win (with or without a Georgia loss)? Or could the Buckeyes jump the Sooners with a second straight impressive performance?

And what about UCF ? The undefeated Golden Knights (11-0) are still lurking at #8, one spot behind Michigan. Could a Group of Five school finally break through into the Playoff if Georgia, Ohio State and Oklahoma are all tripped up?

Clemson will play Pittsburgh in the ACC Championship and while the Tigers are almost three-touchdown favorites, how would an upset upset the rankings?

After a relatively calm set of rankings from week to week, there will be plenty of questions heading into the final set, which will be announced on Sunday, but outside of their exact seeding, none should involve the unbeaten Irish.

CURRENT COLLEGE FOOTBALL PLAYOFF RANKINGS

1. Alabama
2. Clemson
3. Notre Dame
4. Georgia
5. Oklahoma
6. Ohio State
7. Michigan
8. UCF
9. Florida
10. LSU
11. Washington
12. Penn State
13. Washington State
14. Texas
15. Kentucky
16. West Virginia
17. Utah
18. Mississippi State
19. Texas A&M
20. Syracuse
21. Northwestern
22. Boise State
23. Iowa State
24. Missouri
25. Fresno State

 
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