Notre Dame football has suffered one of the most excruciating losses in the last few years as Northern Illinois defeated the Irish 16-14 this past Saturday. NIU was a 28 point underdog in South Bend and Notre Dame could not keep up. How can this happen?! Of course a lot of fans in the base had all sorts of overreactions including some saying offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock and defensive coordinator Al Golden should be fired (Denbrock led the best offense in the nation with LSU last year, while Golden led an elite Irish defense in 2023) or that Riley Leonard should be benched (turns out he was injured), but the fact of the matter is that this loss hurts a lot. That being said, the team has to move on and continue to push for a playoff spot. Which leads to the point of this article: can they still make the playoffs?
First off, let’s answer the question about whether Notre Dame can still make it. Despite dropping to 18 from 5 in the AP Poll, the answer is yes, however, the margin for error has just gotten smaller. Look, lots of teams have been upset in the past and yet have made the playoffs and with now expanded playoffs, there’s an even better chance that a loss can’t hurt their chances too much. The Irish can win 10 straight games and this loss looks a lot less worse than it does now. Heck, NIU is now in the Top 25, so if Notre Dame wins out here, it actually looks okay especially if NIU stays up there. The selection committee can be forgiving for some losses and if the Irish can dominate the rest of their schedule then expect them to be in the playoffs. What might hurt is a higher seed, but still in the playoffs nonetheless and Notre Dame is a prime candidate to make a deep run.
However, on the flip side, there is a point to be made when it was said earlier that the margin for error has gotten smaller. Yes, they can still make it by going 11-1 now, but the team could also still miss out depending how other schools do. The SEC and Big Ten could get at least eight of the seeds between the two, ACC and Big 12 should at least get one each, which leaves two seeds up for grabs. That’s just a hypothetical, but there isn’t much wiggle room and one more loss would assuredly eliminate them from the playoffs. It would be difficult to leave the most popular and profitable college football team if they do go 11-1 out of the playoffs, but the Irish have to do a lot to make it now. Notre Dame’s schedule is not exactly all that strong and that’s a great argument for keeping them out as this loss really affects them a lot. Florida State is already 0-2 which already looks bad on the schedule. If the Irish can beat Louisville and USC, both in the Top 25 and with the win over Texas A&M, then they might be okay with an 11-1 record. That being said, they are backed into a corner especially if they lose to either Louisville or USC. Northern Illinois has to win their conference and stay in the Top 25 if Notre Dame has any shot and the Irish have to go 11-1. Plain and simple. Plus it might even come down to the wire hoping a team in one of the Power Four conferences (more likely in SEC or Big Ten) loses on the last weekend before Conference Championship Week. Dominating the rest of the schedule would also be nice as well. Simply put, there’s a lot of work to be done and Northern Illinois has to help their case.
If Notre Dame makes the playoffs then they are an excellent candidate to make a deep run. It’s not exactly a secret that lots of pundits and fans had high hopes that a national championship comes to South Bend this season. Riley Leonard was supposed to be the best quarterback this program has seen in a long time making the offense more lethal and the defense was supposed to be so elite that they can stop some of the high powered offenses in the nation. Yet, here they are with their backs against the wall as it’s likely that a higher seed is now out of reach. Now it’s time for Marcus Freeman and company to get to work and prove that this loss is a fluke or else otherwise it’s another wasted opportunity.
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