Heather Dinich claims Notre Dame cannot afford a third loss if it wants to reach College Football Playoff

Although it opened the season with back-to-back losses to No. 10 Miami and No. 16 Texas A&M (both of which are now ranked inside the top five), No. 13 Notre Dame is still in the thick of the College Football Playoff race halfway through the season. Who would’ve guessed that?

The Fighting Irish salvaged a slow start and have rattled off four consecutive wins over Purdue, Arkansas, Boise State and NC State. Marcus Freeman‘s team has been dominant in these wins, outscoring opponents 176-57. They have a monstrous opportunity to really stake their claim as Playoff contenders this week at home against No. 20 USC.

Ahead of that matchup, ESPN‘s Heather Dinich claimed on Friday morning’s edition of ‘Get Up‘ that this is a ‘must-win’ game for the Fighting Irish in order to keep their College Football Playoff hopes alive. They made a run to the CFP National Championship Game last season before falling to Ohio State 34-23.

“If there was a Playoff elimination game, this would be it because Notre Dame cannot afford to have a third loss,” Dinich said. “This is what happens when you’re an Independent and don’t have a Conference Championship game to lock up one of those top spots with a conference title. So Notre Dame is under pressure not just now, but to run the table.”

Both Notre Dame and USC could benefit greatly from win in South Bend

“And they have an amazing chance to do that, the best chance in the FBS,” Dinich continued. “And if they do that, they’ve got a 50% shot to get into the Playoff. USC can make a statement win and legitimize its hopes if it can go on the road and beat Notre Dame. I talked to both head coaches this week and defense is going to be a big part of it and explosive plays from both teams.”

The rivalry game between Notre Dame and USC has been played every season (except the COVID-shortened 2020 season) dating back to 1926. The Fighting Irish own the all-time series 50-37-5. With both teams in contention for the 12-team College Football Playoff, this is one of the biggest meetings in years between the two historic rivals.

While Notre Dame has earned a lot of praise for bouncing back from its 0-2 start, USC has been extremely consistent throughout the entire season. The Trojans are 5-1, with their lone loss coming at No. 23 Illinois on Sept. 27 via a last-second field goal. Last weekend, Lincoln Riley‘s team throttled No. 15 Michigan 31-13 in LA to jump back into the Top-25 Rankings.

Due to conference realignment and the Big Ten shifting to nine conference games, this is the last scheduled meeting between Notre Dame and USC. Kick-off for the matchup in South Bend is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. ET on Saturday. The game can be seen on NBC and Peacock.