Instant Reaction: Notre Dame Set to Face Indiana in College Football Playoff

Notre Dame is set to host Indiana in the First Round of the College Football Playoff

Nov 30, 2024; Los Angeles, California, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish running back Jadarian Price (24) celebrates with tight end Mitchell Evans (88) after scoring on a 36-yard touchdown run against the Southern California Trojans in the second half at United Airlines Field at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. / Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

The College Football Playoff field has been released, and Notre Dame earned the No. 7 seed where it will play No. 10 Indiana.

The game will played Friday night, December 20 at Notre Dame Stadium in South Bend. It's the first College Football Playoff game of the new era to be played on a college campus. Some initial thoughts on the matchup as Notre Dame gets set to make its run towards for a national championship.

Notre Dame College Football Playoff: Domination of Inferior Opponents by Both

Indiana and Notre Dame had one common opponent this season:

Purdue.
Irish won 66-7.

IU won 66-0.

— rickbozich (@rickbozich) December 8, 2024

Indiana has been the feel-good story of college football this season, going from perennial outhouse to near the Big Ten's penthouse. The Hoosiers have track record much like Notre Dame's this year: both teams haven't just won 11 games but did so by dominating competition. Indiana outscored opponents 520-176 this year while Notre Dame outscored foes 478-163.

Notre Dame College Football Playoff: Weather Advantage is Gone

Indiana's Jalin Walker (2) and the Hoosier celebrate his interception during the Indiana versus Purdue football game at Memorial Stadium on Saturday, Nov. 30, 2024. / Rich Janzaruk/Herald-Times / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Much was made about Notre Dame being one of the teams with a major home field advantage because of likely weather in late December. That kind of gets blown up with the Indiana draw as the Hoosiers are clearly a team that deals with weather in the Midwest each fall, too. The perceived advantage there simply won't be after all for the Fighting Irish.

Notre Dame College Football Playoff: Irish a Touchdown Favorite

Notre Dame celebrates a touchdown scored by wide receiver Deion Colzie during a NCAA college football game against Florida State at Notre Dame Stadium on Saturday, Nov. 9, 2024, in South Bend. / MICHAEL CLUBB/SOUTH BEND TRIBUNE / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Notre Dame opens as a decent sized favorite in the First Round matchup. According to FanDuel, Notre Dame is a 7.5-point favorite in the game with a total of 51.5 being the first set number.

The Irish are -285 on the moneyline (Indiana is +230) and if you're interested, the Irish open the postseason with 12:1 odds to win the national championship.

Notre Dame College Football Playoff: Rather Favorable Path Overall for Irish

Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman coaches offensive lineman Sam Pendleton (72) after Pendleton received an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty during a NCAA college football game against Florida State at Notre Dame Stadium on Saturday, Nov. 9, 2024, in South Bend. / MICHAEL CLUBB/SOUTH BEND TRIBUNE / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

For the life of me I can't figure out what Penn State has done to earn the No. 6 seed but that isn't really important now. Obviously the matchups that would have come with that would have been more favorable for Notre Dame but in a playoff format you simply have to beat whoever is put in front of you.

Indiana is a team that Notre Dame matches up well with, hence the pointspread being in favor of the Irish.

The second round Notre Dame will get a Georgia team that is talented, but hasn't been as dominant as advertised at the start of the year. Will quarterback Carson Beck be ready to go? Also getting Georgia in New Orleans ends up being more favorable than if they had to play them in Atlanta.

If the Irish can get through that then one of Penn State, SMU, or Boise State will be waiting - which means this isn't the best draw in terms of a path to a national championship appearance but it's about as good as one could hope for regarding Notre Dame.

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