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Newsstand: Where Notre Dame lands in latest Brett McMurphy College Football Playoff projection

Singer headshotby: Mike Singer16 hours agoMikeTSinger
jeremiyah love-10
Notre Dame running back Jeremiyah Love. (Mike Miller, Blue & Gold)

Some College Football Playoff projections outline where things stand if the season ended today, while others predict what will happen the rest of the season and what the bracket will be based on those results.

On3’s Brett McMurphy does the latter, and he has Notre Dame in the field of 12 but not by much. His Week 10 projection has the Fighting Irish in the No. 11 seed, facing off on the road against No. 6 Ole Miss.

Other outlets think Notre Dame is on track to host a playoff game in the 8-9 game. But after starting 0-2, most Fighting Irish fans would have taken any seeding if it meant their team could simply get into the tournament. It seems to be a given that ND will get in if they win out.

Notre Dame is 5-2 and coming off a bye week after knocking off USC 34-24. The No. 12 Irish are set to face Boston College on the road this Saturday afternoon at 3:30 p.m. ET.

Below is McMurphy’s full CFP projection:

College Football Playoffs

First Round (Dec. 19-20)
No. 12 Memphis at No. 5 Georgia
No. 9 Georgia Tech at No. 8 Oregon
No. 11 Notre Dame at No. 6 Ole Miss
No. 10 Texas Tech at No. 7 Miami

Quarterfinals
Sugar Bowl (Jan. 1, 2026)
Caesars Superdome in New Orleans
No. 2 Texas A&M vs. No. 7 Miami

Cotton Bowl (Dec. 31)
AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas
No. 3 Indiana vs. No. 6 Ole Miss

Rose Bowl (Jan. 1, 2026)
Rose Bowl Stadium in Pasadena, Calif.
No. 1 Ohio State vs. No. 8 Oregon

Orange Bowl (Jan. 1, 2026)
Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Fla.
No. 4 Alabama vs. No. 5 Georgia

Semifinals
Fiesta Bowl (Jan. 8, 2026)
State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Ariz.
No. 1 Ohio State vs. No. 4 Alabama

Peach Bowl (Jan. 8, 2026)
Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta
No. 2 Texas A&M vs. No. 3 Indiana

National Championship (Jan. 19, 2026)
Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Fla.
No. 1 Ohio State vs. No. 2 Texas A&M (Texas A&M winner)

Notre Dame tweets of the day

Quote of the day

“The size of holes can be determined by what a defense does. If somebody misfits something, then all of a sudden that hole can be a little bit bigger. Credit to our offense for being able to recognize what the defensive looks are and to be in a position to get guys blocked.

“But there’s not something intentional we did to create bigger holes. It’s getting your job done, no matter what look you see defensively, and then doing it. That’s the result of getting your job done is bigger holes (being created).”

— Irish head coach Marcus Freeman on where the offensive line’s improvement came against USC

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