Notre Dame And The College Football Playoff
College Football Playoff expansion is inevitable and barring any changes to the proposed system it will be a 12-team playoff. We've already talked about what I like and don't like about the system, but there is no changing it at this point.
So what would a 12-team playoff have looked like for Notre Dame over the years? I went back to 1988 and look at the final regular season rankings and projected the playoff standings using the proposed criteria. Since there were so many independents and the Power 5 conferences looked vastly different I projected teams based on the conference they are currently in, which makes it an inexact endeavor, but entertaining nonetheless.
Here is what it would have looked like for Notre Dame
1988 SEASON
5 Notre Dame (11-0)
12 Houston (9-2)
6 Florida State (10-1)
11 Michigan (8-2-1)
7 Auburn (10-1)
10 Oklahoma (9-2)
8 Arkansas (10-1)
9 UCLA (9-2)
BYES: Miami (10-1), West Virginia (11-0), USC (10-1), Nebraska (11-1)
Notre Dame would have defeated the No. 1 and No. 3 seeds in the playoff during the regular season. Had Notre Dame won its first round game it would have faced Nebraska in the quarterfinals and then had to face Miami in the semi-finals, assuming the Hurricanes beat the winner of the Arkansas/UCLA game.
1989 SEASON
5 Notre Dame (11-1)
12 West Virginia (8-2-1)
6 Florida State (9-2)
11 Houston (9-2)
7 Nebraska (10-1)
10 Arkansas (10-1)
8 Tennessee (10-1)
9 Auburn (9-2)
BYES: Colorado (11-0), Miami (10-1), Michigan (10-1), Alabama (10-1)
Had Notre Dame defeated West Virginia it would have faced Alabama in the quarterfinals and then faced Colorado in the semi-finals, assuming the Buffaloes beat the winner of the Tennessee/Auburn game.
1990 SEASON
5 Miami (9-2)
12 Michigan (8-3)
6 Notre Dame (9-2)
11 Florida (9-2)
7 Florida State (9-2)
10 Tennessee (8-2-2)
8 Washington (9-2)
9 Houston (10-1)
BYES: Colorado (10-1-1), Georgia Tech (10-0-1), Texas (10-1), Penn State (9-2)
Had Notre Dame defeated Florida it would have faced Texas in the quarterfinals. With a win over the Longhorns the Irish would have faced Georgia Tech, assuming the Yellow Jackets would have defeated the winner of the Florida State/Tennessee first round game.
1992 SEASON
5 Florida State (10-1)
12 Kansas (7-4)
6 Texas A&M (12-0)
11 Hawaii (10-2)
7 Notre Dame (9-1-1)
10 Colorado (9-1-1)
8 Syracuse (9-2)
9 Georgia (9-2)
BYES: Miami (11-0), Alabama (12-0), Michigan (8-0-3), Washington (9-2)
With a win over Colorado the Fighting Irish would have faced Alabama in the quarterfinals. A win over Alabama would have pitted Notre Dame against Michigan, or the winner of the Texas A&M/Hawaii winner had they upset the Wolverines.
1993 SEASON
5 Notre Dame (10-1)
12 Fresno State (8-3)
6 Tennessee (9-1-1)
11 UCLA (8-3)
7 Texas A&M (10-1)
10 Miami (9-2)
8 Florida (10-2)
9 Wisconsin (9-1-1)
BYES: Florida State (11-1), Nebraska (11-0), West Virginia (11-0), Auburn (11-0)
Notre Dame would have faced Auburn after beating Fresno State. With a win over the Tigers the Irish would have had a rematch against Florida State, assuming the Seminoles would have defeated the winner of the Florida/Wisconsin game.
1995 SEASON
5 Northwestern (10-1)
12 Toledo (10-0-1)
6 Tennessee (10-1)
11 Kansas (9-2)
7 Ohio State (11-1)
10 Kansas State (9-2)
8 Notre Dame (9-2)
9 Texas (10-1-1)
BYES: Nebraska (11-0), Florida (12-0), Colorado (9-2), Florida State (9-2)
Notre Dame would have had a rematch against Texas in the opening round. Notre Dame handed Texas its only loss of the regular season, beating the Longhorns 55-27 inside Notre Dame Stadium. With another victory the Irish would have faced the top-ranked Nebraska squad in the quarterfinals.
2000 SEASON
5 Florida State (11-1)
12 Colorado State (9-2)
6 Oregon State (10-1)
11 Kansas State (10-3)
7 Virginia Tech (10-1)
10 Notre Dame (9-2)
8 Oregon (9-2)
9 Nebraska (9-2)
BYES: Oklahoma (12-0), Miami (10-1), Washington (10-1), Florida (10-2)
Notre Dame would have faced a Michael Vick-led Hokies squad in round one. If the Irish would have been able to win that game it would have faced Miami in the quarterfinals.
2002 SEASON
5 Iowa (11-1)
12 Boise State (11-1)
6 Kansas State (10-2)
11 Notre Dame (10-2)
7 Washington State (10-2)
10 Penn State (9-3)
8 Oklahoma (11-2)
9 Texas (10-2)
BYES: Miami (12-0), Ohio State (13-0), Georgia (12-1), USC (10-2)
With an upset win over Kansas State the Fighting Irish would have faced Georgia in the quarterfinals. Another upset win would have pitted Notre Dame against Ohio State in the semi-finals.
2005 SEASON
5 Ohio State (9-2)
12 Fresno State (8-4)
6 Notre Dame (9-2)
11 West Virginia (10-1)
7 Oregon (10-1)
10 LSU (10-2)
8 Georgia (10-2)
9 Miami (9-2)
BYES: USC (12-0), Texas (12-0), Penn State (10-1), Auburn (9-2)
Notre Dame would have Penn State in the quarterfinals with a win over West Virginia. An upset victory over Penn State would have put the Irish into a semi-final matchup against Vince Young and the Texas Longhorns, who won the national championship that season.
2006 SEASON
5 Michigan (11-1)
12 Arkansas (10-3)
6 LSU (10-2)
11 Notre Dame (10-2)
7 Wisconsin (11-1)
10 Auburn (10-2)
8 USC (10-2)
9 Boise State (12-0)
BYES: Ohio State (12-0), Florida (12-1), Louisville (11-1), Oklahoma (11-2)
Notre Dame would have faced LSU in the opening round. The Irish and Tigers faced off in the Sugar Bowl that season, a game LSU won 41-14.
2012 SEASON
5 Notre Dame (12-0)
12 Michigan (8-4)
6 Florida (11-1)
11 Northern Illinois (12-1)
7 Georgia (11-2)
10 Texas A&M (10-2)
8 Stanford (11-2)
9 LSU (10-2)
BYES: Alabama (12-1), Oregon (11-1), Kansas State (11-1), Florida State (11-2)
Ohio State was ranked No. 3 in the final regular season rankings but the Buckeyes were on probation. Michigan was the next best Big Ten team at 8-4, and that's how the Irish would have gotten a round one matchup against the Wolverines, who ND defeated 13-6 in the regular season. A win over Michigan would have pitted Notre Dame against Florida State, and a win over the Seminoles would have put Notre Dame against Alabama in the semi-finals.
2015 SEASON
5 Iowa (12-1)
12 Houston (12-1)
6 Stanford (11-2)
11 TCU (10-2)
7 Ohio State (11-1)
10 North Carolina (11-2)
8 Notre Dame (10-2)
9 Florida State (10-2)
BYES: Clemson (13-0), Alabama (12-1), Michigan State (12-1), Oklahoma (11-1)
With a win over Florida State in the first round the Irish would have earned a rematch against Clemson in the quarterfinals. Clemson beat Notre Dame 24-22 in the regular season but this would have been on a neutral field. With an upset win over Clemson the Irish would have faced Oklahoma, assuming they beat the winner of the Iowa/Houston game.
2018 SEASON
5 Notre Dame (12-0)
12 Penn State (9-3)
6 Georgia (11-2)
11 LSU (9-3)
7 Michigan (10-2)
10 Florida (9-3)
8 UCF (12-0)
9 Washington (10-3)
BYES: Alabama (13-0), Clemson (13-0), Oklahoma (12-1), Ohio State (12-1)
With a win over Penn State the Irish would have been matched up against Ohio State. An upset win over the Buckeyes would have resulted in a Notre Dame vs. Alabama matchup in the semi-finals.
2020 SEASON
5 Notre Dame (10-1)
12 Coastal Carolina (11-0)
6 Texas A&M (9-1)
11 Indiana (6-1)
7 Florida (8-3)
10 Iowa State (8-3)
8 Cincinnati (9-0)
9 Georgia (7-2)
BYES: Alabama (11-0), Clemson (10-1), Ohio State (6-0), Oklahoma (8-2)
Had the Irish defeated Coastal Carolina it would have faced Oklahoma in the quarterfinals. A win over the Sooners, a team Notre Dame ranked higher than at the end of the regular season, would have earned the Irish a matchup against Alabama in the semi-finals.
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