Heather Dinich outlines doomsday scenario for Notre Dame in College Football Playoff rankings

The penultimate edition of the College Football Rankings came out on Tuesday night, giving teams an idea where they stand ahead of conference championship weekend. Notre Dame might not like its spot.

The Fighting Irish dropped one spot to No. 10, ever closer to the playoff cut line. And ESPN analyst Heather Dinich outlined a scenario where Notre Dame could be left out of the playoff field.

“A couple other things that I’m watching is BYU in the Big 12 is such an X-factor in this,” Dinich explained. “Because if BYU beats Texas Tech, Notre Dame is probably going to be out. That’s the way the math is going to work.”

BYU checked in No. 11. That spot is also interesting because it’s the only current separation between Notre Dame and Miami. And pundits have been talking for weeks about the potential for a shake-up if Notre Dame and Miami are ranked together.

That head-to-head win the Hurricanes secured in the season opener could suddenly come into play. That spells more danger for the Fighting Irish.

“Here’s the other really interesting thing and you talked about last year them saying that they’re not going to move teams around, right?” Dinich said. “But if BYU moves out, by default Miami is going to bump up a spot. If they bump up a spot and they’re next to Notre Dame, do they flip them then because of the head-to-head? That’s a very curious scenario.”

Could the ACC miss out altogether?

Another scenario that Dinich outlined that didn’t necessarily involve Notre Dame was the potential for the ACC to miss the field entirely. That’s a product of a conference title game that pits some teams with lopsided records.

Virginia is set to take on 7-5 Duke. Should Duke win, there’s a chance it’s low enough in the College Football Playoff rankings that two Group of Six conference teams could get in. Dinich also offered some hope for the Blue Devils, though. So it’s not just Notre Dame sweating things out.

“And the fact that JMU is ranked makes it all the more viable that the ACC could get left out entirely,” Dinich explained. “But when we talk about this spot right here (at No. 11), what if JMU loses? I don’t want to eliminate Duke entirely, because the selection committee would at least consider the fact that Duke had a top-20 win against Virginia. Guys, we’ve seen this before. You know when they get in the room they’re watching the games together.

“If Duke beats Virginia, they’re talking about Duke as the ACC champion, and Duke would have seven wins against Power Four opponents. No other Group of Five in the conversation would be able to say that.”