For much of the time after Notre Dame lost to Northern Illinois, the Action Network’s Brett McMurphy was not empathetic. He consistently had the Irish in the Pop-Tarts Bowl, thus rendering their first season in the expanded College Football Playoff era a failure.
McMurphy has changed his tune about the Irish however. A week ago, he projected the Irish as the No. 10 seed in the playoff. While he had them losing to Penn State, it still was a sign of progress.
Now, McMurphy has flipped the seeds for the Irish and Nittany Lions, meaning the Irish now would host the first-round game. What’s more, he has the Irish winning the game, which would give them a New Year’s Day date with Georgia at the Sugar Bowl. Regrettably, that’s where he has the Irish’s run ending, but this still is a nice projection.
A lot has to go right for the Irish to get as far as McMurphy thinks they will, but that he even made this projection shows how much the narrative surrounding the Irish has changed for the better.
Contact/Follow us @IrishWireND on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Notre Dame news, notes and opinions.
Follow Geoffrey on X: @gfclark89