Where Notre Dame lands in first College Football Playoff rankings

If the season ended Tuesday, Notre Dame would make the 12-team College Football Playoff.

The Irish (7-1) landed at No. 10 in the CFP Selection Committee’s first rankings Tuesday evening. They would be the No. 10 seed in the playoff if those were the final rankings. If the season ended today, they would visit No. 6 Penn State — who would be the No. 7 seed — in the first round.

Under third-year head coach Marcus Freeman, the Irish looked like a sure thing for a playoff bid when it picked up a 23-13 road win at Texas A&M on Aug. 31 in College Station, Texas. Seven days later, though, a 16-14 home loss to Northern Illinois dealt Notre Dame’s playoff hopes a crushing blow.

Since the NIU game, the Irish have won six consecutive games by an average margin of 34.8 points. Notre Dame’s win over Texas A&M has also aged well, as the Aggies won seven-straight games of their own before finally falling to South Carolina on Saturday.

Texas A&M is No. 14 in the committee’s initial rankings. Louisville, whom the Irish beat 31-24 on Sept. 28, is No. 22. Army, whom Notre Dame faces Nov. 23, is No. 25.

The Irish feature the fourth-best scoring defense in college football, allowing 12.1 points per game. They also have the sixth-best rushing efficiency at 6.0 yards per carry, which leads all Power Four teams. But the primary source of Notre Dame’s improvement since losing to NIU has been senior quarterback Riley Leonard.

Leonard — a driving force behind Notre Dame’s dominant run game, with 78 carries for 583 sack-adjusted yards and 11 touchdowns — has thrown the ball better with each passing game. He went 13-of-21 for 178 yards and 2 touchdowns in Week 9 against Navy, giving the committee confidence that the Irish can muster a strong offense to match their dominant defense.

Notre Dame is back in action at 7:30 p.m. ET on Saturday, when it takes on Florida State (1-8, 1-7 Atlantic Coast Conference) in South Bend. Here are the full rankings and projected field.

Initial College Football Playoff rankings: Notre Dame is No. 10

1. Oregon (9-0)
2. Ohio State (7-1)
3. Georgia (7-1)
4. Miami (9-0)
5. Texas (7-1)
6. Penn State (7-1)
7. Tennessee (7-1)
8. Indiana (9-0)
9. BYU (8-0)
10. Notre Dame (7-1)
11. Alabama (6-2)
12. Boise State (7-1)
13. SMU (8-1)
14. Texas A&M (7-1)
15. LSU (6-2)
16. Ole Miss (7-2)
17. Iowa State (7-1)
18. Pittsburgh (7-1)
19. Kansas State (7-2)
20. Colorado (6-2)
21. Washington State (7-1)
22. Louisville (6-3)
23. Clemson (6-2)
24. Missouri (6-2)
25. Army (8-0)

Initial College Football Playoff bracket

First-round byes

• No. 1 Oregon
• No. 2 Georgia
• No. 3 Miami
• No. 4 BYU

First-round matchups

• No. 12 Boise State at No. 5 Ohio State
• No. 11 Alabama at No. 6 Texas
• No. 10 Notre Dame at No. 7 Penn State
• No. 9 Indiana at No. 8 Tennessee