US LBM Coaches Poll No. 8 Notre Dame is still holding its own in projected College Football Playoff pictures.
Despite the loss to No. 4 BYU, ESPN’s Heather Dinich believes the Fighting Irish still have a chance at a top-four seed in the CFP.
“It was a close loss on the road against a ranked opponent – which isn't doomsday in the committee meeting room, but Notre Dame doesn't have much on its résumé to help overcome it,” Dinich said in her latest CFP report. “The Fighting Irish are helped by the BYU defeat being considered a good loss in the room – better than Georgia losing at home to unranked Auburn or even Indiana losing at home to Ohio State and certainly better than Ole Miss getting hammered at Florida. It also helped Notre Dame that Alabama
and Texas do have two losses each.”
Dinich, however, explains why the Irish could be lower than the No. 4 seed.
“Notre Dame has two wins against Power 4 opponents above .500: Wisconsin and at North Carolina,” Dinich added. “The Irish’s defense, which has been one of the nation's best, allowed BYU's Bear Bachmeier to complete 72% of his passes in the first half when they fell behind by 11 points.”
Dinich noted that Notre Dame is “guaranteed a spot in the CFP if it finishes in the top 12” on Selection Day, but “it’s not guaranteed a spot in the top 12.”
The Irish’s Nov. 7 matchup against top-ranked Miami is the toughest remaining game on their schedule. According to ESPN’s Football Power Index, Notre Dame has at least a 50% chance to win the rest of its games on the regular-season schedule.
“Which means beating (No. 1) Miami in November and avoiding a second loss is critical to its own mantra of ‘leave no doubt,’” Dinich said. “If Notre Dame also falls to Miami, it will have lost the two biggest games on its schedule without a conference title opportunity to make up for it. That would open the door for debate in the committee meeting room.”
Aaaand … here you go, Utah … and a new No. 1 (again)
— Heather Dinich (@CFBHeather) October 18, 2026
https://t.co/V638ATRAoR
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This article originally appeared on Fighting Irish Wire: Is Notre Dame still a factor in ESPN’s latest CFP projections?
