One of the leading voices in college football is piling on the Notre Dame Fighting Irish after the team’s poor showing against Northern Illinois.
The fallout from the 16-14 loss to a then-unranked MAC team continues.
Sports Illustrated’s Pat Forde has a weekly series with the 12 teams that had their playoff dreams crushed, and Notre Dame leads his series this week.
“Following up a hard-nosed victory at the Texas A&M Aggies with this dud of a home opener immediately increases the heat on Freeman for the rest of this season,” Forde writes.
![Notre Dame's loss to NIU may have crushed their playoff dreams.](https://fightingirishwire.usatoday.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/09/USATSI_24178739.jpg)
It’s been a theme in the days following the stunning loss — can Notre Dame, the same team that seemed guaranteed a playoff spot just days before playing NIU, qualify?
What happens against Purdue will start to determine the answer. Until then, the analysts and pundits can merely speculate.
It’s tricky, since both sides can be argued, and since Notre Dame doesn’t have a chance for an automatic bid via a conference championship.
The Irish can start providing answers on Saturday.
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