Games To Watch: Notre Dame College Football Playoff Edition
With a win over Syracuse today, the second-ranked Notre Dame Fighting Irish will eliminate a lot of teams from being able to knock them out of the College Football Playoff.
With that in mind, the games I’ll be focusing on the next two weeks are those involves teams that remain possible contenders for a spot should Notre Dame drop the Syracuse game (and win the ACC title) or lose in the ACC Championship game.
#4 Ohio State Buckeyes (4-0) at Michigan State Spartans (2-3)
Time: 12:00 PM ET
Network: ABC
Spread: Ohio State -24.0
Michigan State is just 2-3, but their two wins are over Michigan and Northwestern. Of course, the Spartans also got blasted by Rutgers, Iowa and Indiana.
The question, however, is how many players for Ohio State will be out for this game? Ohio State had to cancel its contests against Illinois due to COVID-19 issues. The Big Ten has far stricter guidelines for how long players must be out. Should the Buckeyes be short-handed at some key spots this game could get sticky.
If Ohio State is mostly squared away I expect them to throttle Michigan State. Head coach Ryan Day won’t be at the game, but he and the rest of the coaches know that style points matter more for them than most teams.
#5 Texas A&M Aggies (6-1) at Auburn Tigers (5-3)
Time: 12:00 PM ET
Network: ESPN
Spread: Texas A&M -5.5
The Irish Breakdown staff already broke this game down, and you can read our analysis and predictions HERE.
With Texas A&M ranking fifth in the first two College Football Playoff rankings they are clearly the biggest threat to the four teams currently in the top group. I believe there’s a gap between the top four teams and the Aggies, but impressive wins over Auburn, Ole Miss and Tennessee could close the gap.
A loss means the Aggies are no longer in the CFP conversation, and of their remaining games this seems like the most likely loss, although the Ole Miss game next weekend could get interesting.
#6 Florida Gators (7-1) at Tennessee Volunteers (2-5)
Time: 3:30 PM ET
Network: CBS
Spread: Florida -17.5
Florida is ranked behind the Aggies right now, but if the Gators win out they could be a legit threat to a one-loss Notre Dame team. The reason is winning out would mean beating Alabama. If Florida drops a game before then they are done, and even a win over Alabama won’t get them above a one-loss Irish squad.
Tennessee is a mess right now, and I expect this game to be a blowout, but I’ll have my eye on the scoreboard just in case. You just never know with rivalry games.
#13 BYU Cougars (9-0) at #18 Coastal Carolina Chanticleers (9-0)
Time: 5:30 PM ET
Network: ESPNU
Spread: BYU -11.0
Okay, so this game won’t have any impact on Notre Dame’s playoff chances. I don’t see either of these teams have any chance at all of making the CFP. I will, however, watch this game because these are two really, really good Group of 6 football teams and I expect this to be a really good game.
#3 Clemson Tigers (8-1) at Virginia Tech Hokies (4-5)
Time: 7:30 PM ET
Network: ABC
Spread: Clemson -22.0
The Irish Breakdown staff already broke this game down, and you can read our analysis and predictions HERE.
A Clemson wins means the rematch with the Fighting Irish is set. A loss means Miami has a chance to get into the ACC title game if it beats Duke and North Carolina the next two weeks. What a loss to Virginia Tech does, however, is likely knock Clemson out of playoff contention. It would certainly drop them below Notre Dame, even if the Tigers win the ACC title (assuming Miami loses to North Carolina next weekend).
I’m also going to have my eye on this game to see what kind of jump the Tigers make in the second game back from the long layoff.
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