Why Notre Dame Is a Dangerous Team in the College Football Playoff

The Irish should be competitive in every game they play - if they keep moving on.

Nov 30, 2024; Los Angeles, California, USA; Southern California Trojans running back Woody Marks (4) is stopped by Notre Dame Fighting Irish defensive lineman Donovan Hinish (41) during the first half at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images | Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images

Notre Dame is a very balanced team

The backbone of the Notre Dame program is and has been the Irish defense. This unit ranks in the top five in nearly every significant statistical category there is and comes to play winning football every single week.

The 13.58 PPG allowed by the Irish combined with the 39.9 PPG scored by the Irish has Notre Dame sitting in the third spot nationally on both sides of the football.

This Notre Dame team is balanced. And that balance will help it compete against any style of play that it may come up against in the expanded CFP field. First up? The Indiana Hoosiers that boast similar numbers to the Irish in regards to their national rankings.

𝘈𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘯𝘶𝘢𝘭 𝘢𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘰𝘯𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘤𝘰𝘢𝘤𝘩 𝘪𝘯 𝘤𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘨𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘰𝘵𝘣𝘢𝘭𝘭@CoachAlGolden is a @BroylesAward Nominee #GoIrish☘️ pic.twitter.com/O9Fvx3aYPz

— Notre Dame Football (@NDFootball) November 26, 2024

Notre Dame's defense and run game can be relied upon

Good defenses tend to play good defense weekly. Through good weather, bad weather, and against good teams and bad teams. The Irish have shown this throughout the entirety of this season and this should instill confidence in Irish fans moving into CFP play.

Offensively, the Irish are averaging just under 225 YPG on the ground per contest. When this run game gets combined with this high level of defense, Notre Dame suffocates opponents. Should the Irish end up making a run through the CFP, this will be the formula.

Notre Dame is not going to try to become anything it has not been in the regular season, like turning into a passing juggernaut for example. It's going to try to be the best version of what it has been all year. It'll be fascinating to see how far this strategy can carry Notre Dame in the modern CFP era.

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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