Final College Football Playoff projections: Will Notre Dame make the 12-team field?

It will come down to three teams — No. 9 Alabama, No. 10 Notre Dame and No. 11 Miami — for two spots.

Unlike Week 14, Championship Saturday went exactly the way Marcus Freeman and company needed it to. No. 4 Texas Tech crushed No. 11 BYU, eliminating the Cougars. No. 3 Georgia crushed Alabama, which one would think would move the Crimson Tide behind the Irish.

Plus, Boise State crushed UNLV to win the Mountain West, which helps Notre Dame’s strength of schedule. Will that matter? Who knows, but it certainly doesn’t hurt.

The Irish have done everything in their power to make their case since opening the season 0-2. All they can do is wait and see if that 0-2 start will wind up dooming them once and for all. What we do know for sure is if Notre Dame earns a bid to the College Football Playoff, it will be the team no one wants to play in December of January.

Here’s where the national experts think the Irish will land in the final CFP rankings.

ESPN’s Heather Dinich: No. 9, at Oklahoma

“The Irish benefited from BYU losing to Texas Tech — preventing the Big 12 from having two teams in — and when Georgia beat Alabama soundly in the SEC title game. Arguably the biggest debate in the room all season has been between Notre Dame and Alabama, with the committee members seesawing between the two until Alabama’s Iron Bowl win tipped the scales last week for a few committee members who had been on the fence. With the loss to Georgia, though, the balance should swing back in Notre Dame’s favor, pushing Notre Dame safely into the bracket at No. 9.”

Source: Projecting the final College Football Playoff top 12

On3’s Andy Staples: No. 10, at Texas A&M

“I don’t think anyone at Miami would care if the Irish wound up above the Hurricanes as long as they’re both in the field. This is merely a guess on my part at how the committee will reward Miami’s win against Notre Dame if the two appear next to one another. As for putting Notre Dame/Miami ahead of Alabama, I return to the method I used to predict the four-team field a few years ago.

“To determine who should get No. 4 with two worthy candidates, I’d imagine the coach of the No. 1 team got kidnapped, injected with truth serum and asked who he’d most like to play. The committee would then pick the team the coach didn’t want to play as the final team in the field. In this situation, it’s the coaches of the No. 7 and No. 8 teams we’d be kidnapping and injecting. And I suspect they’d say they’d rather play Alabama.”

Source: College Football Playoff Prediction: Will the committee settle Miami-Notre Dame by punting Alabama?

On3’s Brett McMurphy: No. 11, Pop-Tarts Bowl vs. TCU

“My projections, as of 1 a.m. Sunday morning, are that James Madison gets in over Duke as the fifth-highest rated conference champion; Miami and Alabama get in; while Notre Dame is out.”

Source: College Football Bowl Projections Sunday update: Full list of matchups, playoff predictions

ESPN staff survey: A mixed bag

Andrea Adelson: No. 10 seed, at Ole Miss
Kyle Bonagura: OUT
Bill Connelly: No. 8 seed, vs. Miami
David Hale: No. 9 seed, at Miami
Eli Lederman: No. 9 seed, at Oklahoma
Max Olson: No. 9 seed, at Oklahoma
Adam Rittenberg: No. 9 seed, at Oklahoma
Mark Schlabach: No. 9 seed, at Oklahoma
Jake Trotter: No. 10 seed, at Texas A&M
Paolo Uggetti: OUT
Dave Wilson: OUT

The Athletic’s Scott Dotcherman: No. 9 seed, at Oklahoma

“The committee sent a signal on Tuesday that Alabama was going to stay in the field regardless of its outcome in the SEC championship. By moving the Crimson Tide past Notre Dame, the committee provided enough flexibility that it could keep Alabama in the field and still drop it a spot if warranted. To drop the Tide out of the field after losing an extra game to Georgia would jeopardize future conference championship games. There’s no way the committee does that.

“If Notre Dame and Miami lined up side-by-side, there is a good chance the Hurricanes would leap past the Fighting Irish for the final at-large spot. And if the committee kept Alabama at No. 9, that probably would happen. But the committee has ranked Notre Dame significantly higher than Miami all year, despite the Hurricanes’ season-opening win. It’s obvious the committee believes Notre Dame is a better football team, so the best way to alleviate that stressor is to flip the Irish with the Tide.”

Source: Who will make the College Football Playoff? Our experts predict the final bracket

CBS Sports’ Brad Crawford: No. 9, at Oklahoma

“The committee has consistently ranked the Fighting Irish ahead of Miami. While Notre Dame’s head-to-head loss to the Hurricanes will be noted, the Fighting Irish remain firmly in the at-large mix, likely on the road in the first round.”

Source: College Football Playoff Rankings projection: Indiana, Oregon bookend top five ahead of 12-team bracket reveal