The first 12-team 2024 College Football Playoff is just around the corner.
Which teams will make it into the final 12 will depend on what happens on Championship Weekend. The Mountain West, Big 12, SEC, Big Ten and ACC will all have conference title games between Friday and Saturday, before the final selection show Sunday afternoon.
One team that will not play in a conference title game is Notre Dame, which is still an independent. That status will affect Notre Dame’s seeding in the College Football Playoff.
Let’s run through the Irish’s playoff scenarios heading into Championship Saturday.
MORE: Where Notre Dame could fall in the first round of the College Football Playoff bracket
Is Notre Dame in the College Football Playoff?
Yes, the Fighting Irish are squarely inside the field of 12 teams. Although the Irish are ranked No. 4 in the penultimate CFP rankings before Championship Saturday, Notre Dame is actually seeded sixth in the 12-team bracket.
That’s because the CFP’s top four seeds, in addition to first-round byes, are strictly reserved for conference champions. Via the playoff itself:
The four highest-ranked conference champions will be seeded one through four and will receive a first-round bye. The fifth conference champion will be seeded where it was ranked or at No. 12 if it is outside the top 12 rankings. Non-conference champions ranked in the top four will be seeded beginning at No. 5. Because of this, the seeding, 1 through 12, could look different than the final rankings.
Notre Dame does not play in a conference, and will not play in a conference title game. Therefore, the Irish can’t receive a top-four seed in the playoff, and will not get a first-round bye. Since ND will not play a game on Saturday, the Irish shouldn’t move too far up or down in the final rankings.
Why can’t Notre Dame play in the ACC title game?
You aren’t alone in thinking that Notre Dame has a connection with the ACC. In fact, the Fighting Irish play in the ACC for all sports except football and ice hockey. Notre Dame remains independent in football, but does play five ACC teams on their schedule each year. This allows Notre Dame to remain independent and preserve its traditional rivalry games like USC and Navy and play a national schedule.
Since ND only plays five ACC opponents every year, the Irish are not eligible to play in the ACC title game.
Notre Dame playoff seeding scenarios
Since the Irish are not playing in a conference title game and won’t have a chance to lose this weekend, ND is safely inside the top-12. We’ll see where the Irish end up after Championship Saturday is completed.
If Oregon and Texas win their championship games, Notre Dame will likely move up to the No. 5 seed because Penn State, with an additional loss, will drop below the Irish.
If Penn State and Texas win, Notre Dame should stay at No. 6, with Oregon swapping places with Penn State in the seeding and getting the No. 5 seed. If Oregon and Georgia win, ND would again stay at No. 6, with Penn State falling below the Irish, and Georgia jumping ahead.
If Penn State and Georgia win, Notre Dame could drop to No. 7 since both Oregon and Texas would drop out of the Top 4 and Penn State and Georgia would jump in. Oregon and Texas would likely be No. 5 and 6, pushing Notre Dame to No. 7.
In every scenario, Notre Dame will have a home game in the first round, and the talk is that game will be held Friday, Dec. 20.
College Football Playoff bracket 2024
Notre Dame is already safely inside the top-12 with zero games left to play. But depending on what happens in the Big Ten and SEC title games, the Irish’s seed could change between now and selection Sunday, though probably not drastically.