How Will the College Football Playoff Committee Handle Notre Dame?

It's been a great season so far for the Irish, how will the College Football Playoff Committee factor in their unique position and big wins?

Oct 26, 2024; East Rutherford, New Jersey, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish cornerback Leonard Moore (15) celebrates his interception with cornerback Christian Gray (29) during the second half against the Navy Midshipmen at MetLife Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images | Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

Notre Dame chooses to be different, this comes with pluses and minuses

Notre Dame continues to choose to remain an independent football program. This decision has certain benefits and drawbacks. One of the drawbacks is that the Irish will have few if any allies in a room overflowing with conference allegiances when the CFP committee begins to release its rankings starting next Tuesday.

While these rankings will certainly change as November rolls along, the first one is of particular interest because it will reveal some of the basic philosophies and thought processes being used to formulate the field. As the rankings evolve over the final month of the season, a couple of really key questions have emerged that will impact Notre Dame's standing greatly.

After six straight wins, Notre Dame has now done enough to make up for its loss to NIU. The Irish have gotten better as the season has gone on, and the CFP selection committee should give them credit for that: pic.twitter.com/lH7XneFGLr

— Nicole Auerbach (@NicoleAuerbach) October 26, 2024

The 12-team field forces more consideration to be calculated than ever before

One of my biggest questions regarding this committee moving forward is how they will value 2-loss power conference teams to 1-loss teams from weaker conferences or, in Notre Dame's case, an independent schedule.

Is an SEC resume with two losses on it to high-quality teams more impressive than an 11-1 Irish team with a loss to Northern Illinois? America can't wait to find out.

Another key question that will come into play now more than ever with the expanded CFP field is the long-held concept that early season losses are less penal than losses late in the season.

How much will this still apply as some very high-quality power conference teams will suffer some tough defeats throughout November? How far will they fall?

Questions like these we simply have no answer for yet. The reality is that the expansion of the CFP field from 4-12 also expanded the multitude of complicated considerations, calculations and deliberations that must take place to set the field.

This will be a wildly interesting and entertaining exercise to watch as Notre Dame makes its CFP push.

For more Irish news & notes follow John on Twitter @alwaysirishINC, Always Irish on Youtube and or your preferred audio podcast provider.

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