Notre Dame Football Climbs to No. 5 in Second CFP Rankings After Beating Miami

Notre Dame moved up six spots to No. 5 in the second College Football Playoff rankings of the season Tuesday night. A week ago the selection committee had the Irish at No. 11, the last at-large team in the projected field because they lacked a signature win. Saturday’s 31-24 win over top-ranked Miami in South Bend changed the committee’s view.

Notre Dame (8-1) built a 21-point lead and held off a late Miami push for its first win over a No. 1 team since Clemson in 2020. The Hurricanes fell six spots to No. 7, which leaves them two places behind the Irish.

Georgia (8-1) moved into the top spot. Utah (9-0), Alabama (7-2) and UCLA (9-0) round out the top four, and Texas sits right behind Notre Dame at No. 6.

The top four teams in the final rankings get the top four seeds and first-round byes, whether or not they win a conference title. That leaves Notre Dame one spot outside the bye line. If the season ended tonight, the Irish would be the top first-round host and would welcome Boise State, projected as the 12 seed as the highest-ranked Group of 6 team, to Notre Dame Stadium. The winner would likely draw UCLA in the next round.

The committee also came around on BYU. The Cougars, who handed Notre Dame its only loss with a 28-24 win in Provo on Oct. 17, lost a close one to unbeaten Utah and still slipped only one spot to No. 10. Indiana dropped from No. 4 to No. 9 after sitting idle.

Notre Dame finishes the regular season with Boston College at home Saturday, SMU at home on Nov. 21, and Syracuse on the road Nov. 28.

Wisconsin improved to 6-3 this weekend but is still outside of the Top 25. SMU, ranked in the AP Poll, sits outside the top 25 as well. Both teams continuing to win would help the Irish, however, as a SMU win over No.13 Wake Forest should surely boost the Mustangs into the Top 25 ahead of their Senior Day visit to Notre Dame Stadium. North Carolina continuing to win would help the Irish as well since they are now Notre Dame’s third win over a .500 team after they moved over .500 this past weekend.

The Irish may have started too low last week, but at least for now, the Irish are sitting in a good position given their record. A path to a bye exists for Notre Dame although its certainly possible the committee moves the Irish down a spot or two by jumping someone behind them up since no future Notre Dame opponent is ranked. Texas, for instance, visits #14 LSU this weekend and would likely move ahead of the Irish with a win next week.

Still sitting at #5 has Notre Dame in position to host a first round game at worst assuming they win out as it would be hard for the committee to move the Irish down far enough out of range for hosting a game, assuming winning out, in any scenario.