Spring is upon us, with many college teams starting spring practice this week (the Irish start on Thursday) ESPN’s Heather Dinich previewed some of the team she believes will be in contention for a College Football Playoff berth. Dinich looked at ten teams, with Notre Dame being one of them and evaluated each time by looking at four different factors: Where they strand now, biggest obstacle, and what the committee will and won’t like.
The easiest one to project is where Brian Kelly’s team stands now, as Dinich notes that QB Ian Book returns along with the whole offensive line but believes that “those within the program know their margin for error is only one loss.”
The biggest obstacle Dinich believes are when the Irish travel away from South Bend, with three true road games and three neutral site games. Yes, Clemson will be the toughest game, but by looking big picture, Dinich makes a very solid point.
In the College Football Era it’s been difficult to judge what the committee will value more than the other. With that in mind, Dinich thinks if the Irish defeat both Wisconsin and Clemson, it would negate not having a conference championship attached to Notre Dame’s resume. She believes the committee won’t like close wins, due to having to “leave no doubt it’s (Notre Dame) one of the four best, and the only way to do that is win convincingly.”
Brian Kelly has led the Irish to one CFP berth, just two years ago in 2018 season, and there is plenty of hype coming into this year. There is a very real possibility that Notre Dame will be in the conversation for another opportunity to win a National Championship at the end of this year.