Why Notre Dame Deserves the No. 5 Seed in the College Football Playoff

It may not get it, but Notre Dame is worthy of the 5 seed in the College Football Playoff

Nov 30, 2024; Los Angeles, California, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish head coach Marcus Freeman reacts after cornerback Christian Gray (29) blocks a pass against the Southern California Trojans during the second half at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. | Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images

Notre Dame had a stress free Saturday and although things didn't go perfectly for the Fighting Irish, it went well enough for them to deserve the five seed in the College Football Playoff.

When the smoke clears Saturday night and into Sunday morning, Notre Dame is looking at a world where they deserve the No. 5 seed and the home playoff game that comes along with it.

We know Notre Dame finished 11-1 but let's quickly compare them to the teams also in contention for the No. 5 seed.

Notre Dame's College Football Playoff Resume:

Nov 30, 2024; Los Angeles, California, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish quarterback Riley Leonard (13) runs the ball against the Southern California Trojans during the second half at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. | Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images

Notre Dame finished the season at 11-1 overall, winning 10-straight games since the shocking upset loss at home to Northern Illinois. The Irish dominated those games, outscoring opponents by a combined score of 441-134, an average score of 44.1-13.4.

The strength of schedule isn't great but when you compare it to the other contenders for the No. 5 seed it's not awful and when you compare common opponents, things tilt in favor of Notre Dame.

Penn State's College Football Playoff Resume:

Penn State Nittany Lions wide receiver Logan Cunningham (31) and Penn State Nittany Lions safety Dejuan Lane (10) celebrate Saturday, Dec. 7, 2024, during the Big Ten Championship game at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. | Grace Hollars/IndyStar / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Penn State played in another huge game Saturday night under James Franklin and as is the norm under him the Nittany Lions again lost. Sure, the final score was only an eight-point difference, but Penn State trailed against Oregon for the final 55:20 of game action and if you watched, never felt like they were threatening to take the lead.

Penn State's best win of the year is a 21-7 home victory over Illinois while Notre Dame's current only ranked win comes against otherwise unbeaten Army (49-14). When you look at common opponents, Notre Dame beat Purdue 66-7 while Penn State won 49-10. The Irish were also more impressive in winning at USC, beating the Trojans 49-35 to Penn State's 33-30 overtime victory.

Texas's College Football Playoff Resume:

Texas, who had the SEC’s easiest schedule, just wasn’t as honed as Georgia. Lots of little mistakes and issues you only see vs great teams. Georgia had those ironed out.

That said, based on their resume (lack of quality wins) they really ought to fall a good bit in the rankings.

— College Football Nerds (@CFBNerds) December 8, 2024

Texas lost a heartbreaker in overtime Saturday, dropping the SEC championship game against Georgia. The loss moved Texas to 11-2 on the year with both losses coming against the Bulldogs.

When you review the Texas resume, the Longhorns don't have overly impressive wins. Sure, winning at Michigan felt big at the time but we see what the Wolverines turned into. The biggest win on the schedule is either a dominating home win over Florida or a 17-7 win at Texas A&M.

Personally, I think Texas has a better resume than Penn State. However, after dropping a home game to Georgia before again falling to them while the Bulldogs played a half without their projected future first round NFL draft pick at quarterback, I'm not for giving Texas any benefit of the doubt.

Nick Shepkowski's Prediction:

Nov 19, 2022; South Bend, Indiana, USA; Heavy snow falls in the third quarter of the game between the Notre Dame Fighting Irish and the Boston College Eagles at Notre Dame Stadium. | Matt Cashore-Imagn Images

Above is what I think the rankings should look like, not what I think they'll actually look like.

My best guess is that as much as I think Notre Dame should be the No. 5 seed, that will instead go to Texas and the Irish will be at No. 6 and soon preparing to get either SMU or Clemson in a First Round home playoff game.

You can see my full College Football Playoff Projections here.

More from Notre Dame on Sports Illustrated

A Look at Notre Dame Football's Worst Case Scenario for Conference Championship Games

Notre Dame First Round Opponent? How Alabama Problem Was Bound to Happen for CFP

Notre Dame Lands Last-Second Hail Mary for Huge Recruiting Win Over Rival