Kirk Herbstreit calls Notre Dame a Playoff lock after win at Pitt
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With the result in hand between Georgia and Texas and the remaining seconds ticking off the game clock, the conversation shifted to the College Football Playoff picture.
ESPN’s Chris Fowler, alongside Kirk Herbstreit in the booth, mentioned Notre Dame and said style points will matter for the Irish down the stretch. He began to comment on the potential for Notre Dame to end on a 10-game winning streak before Herbstreit interjected.
There’s no drama in South Bend. The Irish are in the 12-team field after beating Pitt on Saturday, according to Herbstreit.
“They have an injured Syracuse team and Stanford. We can punch their ticket,” Herbstreit said. “Notre Dame’s in the Playoff.”
Fowler responded: “They’re a lock at 10-2?”
Herbstreit chuckled.
“Yeah. They’re in. I just put them in,” the former Ohio State Buckeye said. “Down to 11.”
Notre Dame lost its first 2 games of the season. The first came by 3 points on the road at Miami. The Hurricanes have stumbled a bit recently, but they’re 8-2 and still in the thick of the Playoff mix. The second loss came by 1 point at home to Texas A&M. The Aggies, of course, are 10-0.
Since Week 2, Notre Dame has won 8 straight. All 8 of them have come by double-digits. Including Saturday’s 37-15 win over the Panthers, 6 of the 8 have come by 21 points or more.
Depending on how Pitt (7-3) and USC (8-2) finish their respective seasons, Notre Dame could have 2 ranked wins or none.
Pitt was ranked 22nd this week and closes out with games at Georgia Tech and against Miami. USC was ranked 17th by the CFP selection committee, but it has to go to Oregon next Saturday and close with UCLA.
Syracuse and Stanford are a combined 6-14 on the season. They won’t move the needle for the Irish. But, if Herbstreit is correct, they won’t need to.
Derek Peterson does a bit of everything, not unlike Taysom Hill. He has covered Oklahoma, Nebraska, the Pac-12, and now delivers CFB-wide content.
