Notre Dame’s College Football Playoff Outlook After a Wild Week 12

Notre Dame won its eighth-straight game on Saturday, a 37-15 victory at No. 22 Pittsburgh in what was about as impressive a victory as it has had this season. Big plays paved the way as a highlight Jeremiyah Love touchdown run, parlayed with a Tae Johnson pick-six in a ten-second span, set the tone early.

With only Syracuse (3-7) and Stanford (3-7) remaining, it certainly appears that Notre Dame is headed back to the College Football Playoff. But how of a seed will Marcus Freeman and the Fighting Irish be looking at?

Notre Dame's win was much needed but what impact did other college football happenings Saturday have on the Irish longterm?

Oklahoma Stuns Alabama in Tuscaloosa

There was a world where Notre Dame could be in a world of hurt if things went a certain way in the SEC on Saturday. One key to that was what happened at No. 4 Alabama as the Crimson Tide hosted No. 11 Oklahoma.

Oklahoma was outgained by Alabama 406-212 but ultimately won, 23-21. All three of Notre Dame, Alabama, and Oklahoma now have two losses, but Notre Dame's best win (USC) doesn't yet stack up with Oklahoma (Alabama) or Alabama's (Georgia).

USC Helps Out Notre Dame

While USC is busy trying to do its public relations spin on the possible end of Notre Dame's rivalry with the Trojans, it overcame an early 14-0 deficit at home to No. 21 Iowa, 26-21. USC will remain in the top 20 with its College Football Playoff chances still alive as it heads to Autzen Stadium to take on No. 8 Oregon next week.

Couple USC's victory with Navy upsetting South Florida, and suddenly two teams Notre Dame has beaten in the last month have cases for College Football Playoff appearances.

Texas Essentially Eliminated at Georgia

The other part of Notre Dame's SEC fears Saturday was that Texas could win at Georgia, which would create a logjam of two-loss teams in the conference. While close entering the fourth quarter, Georgia ran off 21-straight points to win 35-10 and essentially end Texas' playoff hopes.

BYU Routs TCU in Big 12 Action

BYU beating TCU wasn't surprising as it got ahead early and never had to worry about an upset bid, but perhaps the Cougars playoff hopes took a bigger hit when No. 25 Cincinnati lost to Arizona. The loss will take Cincinnati out of the top 25 next week, taking away a possible resume-building win for BYU along the way.

Nick Shepkowski's Latest College Football Playoff Projection

So enough beating around the bush, what does the College Football Playoff outlook appear to be after 12 weeks of action? This isn't a reflection of what the rankings will look like when they're updated Tuesday, but instead what the bracket will ultimately look like when the playoff comes around.

Here we go...

First Round Byes:

1. Ohio State
2. Indiana
3. Texas A&M
4. Georgia

First Round Matchups:

5. Texas Tech vs. 12. James Madison
6. Ole Miss vs. 11. Virginia
7. Oregon vs. 10. Notre Dame
8. Oklahoma vs. 9. Alabama

Maybe these words come back to bite me but I don't know who in the SEC is great. If I had to pick a team it'd be Georgia, but I still don't think the Bulldogs are in the same ballpark as Ohio State or even Indiana.

It's an extremely deep conference for having a lot of very good teams, but I'm still not seeing the great one that will end the Big Ten's streak of winning the last two national championships.

Quarterfinal Matchups:

1. Ohio State vs. 9. Alabama
4. Georgia vs. 5. Texas Tech
3. Texas A&M vs. 6. Ole Miss
2. Indiana vs. 7. Oregon

Semifinal Matchups

1, Ohio State vs. 4. Georgia
2. Indiana vs. 6. Ole Miss

National Championship Game:

1. Ohio State over 2. Indiana