Notre Dame’s CFP Hopes on the Brink: Hidden Risks That Could Derail Their Season

Follow Mike on X:@MikeFChenToday, we’ll look at three reasons why the Irish won’t make the CFP, as that would be a disastrous outcome for a team with extremely high expectations. Look, it’s college football and anything can happen, as last year Alabama Michigan, and Florida State each were ranked inside the top-10, only to see all of them underperform and miss the playoff.Now we all saw what happened last year as the Irish suffered multiple injuries to starters and contributors, but they can’t make this a habit. Yes, injuries are mostly fluky, but imagine if the starting quarterback goes down, you are one big hit away from seeing Tyler Buchner taking snaps behind center again. Notre Dame is deep at multiple positions, so this could be me just being a bit paranoid after what happened last fall. However, there are more than a few players on this team with injury history’s, including running back Jeremiyah Love, offensive tackles Charles Jagusah (hurt in a UTV accident and will miss time again) and Anthonie Knapp, and defensive ends Boubacar Traore and Jordan Botelho. Each one of them is expected to have a big role for the Irish this fall, and you can’t expect there not to be a drop off like there was last year again.With so much turnover with graduations and the transfer portal, it’s becoming more difficult to judge teams on what they’ll be this fall. While I don’t see this happening to Notre Dame, weirder things have happened. Let’s look at three reasons why the Irish won’t make the College Football Playoff.

Uncertainty and youth at quarterback

Yesterday, we dove headfirst into the reasons why Notre Dame could very well find themselves in the College Football Playoff this season. But hey, to truly get the full picture, you’ve gotta flip that coin and face the other side too. Today, I’m zeroing in on three compelling reasons why the Fighting Irish might just fall short of the CFP — a scenario that would seriously sting given the sky-high hopes pinned on them. Let’s be real: college football is wild and unpredictable. Just last year, heavyweights like Alabama, Michigan, and Florida State all graced the top-10 rankings, only to slip up and miss the playoff entirely. Add in the whirlwind of graduations and the ever-shifting transfer portal, and it’s a tricky business sizing up any team’s true potential heading into fall. While I’m not convinced Notre Dame will stumble, stranger things have gone down on the gridiron. So buckle up — here are the key reasons why the Irish might not punch their ticket to the Big Dance this year. LEARN MORE

The early season schedule

We’ve brought up the fact that no first-year starting quarterback has won a national title since the shortened 2020 season, and that was with a stacked Alabama roster. While the Irish have plenty of talent, it’s hard to say that they are at the same level as the Crimson Tide was that season. Veteran leadership at quarterback is key, which is why Freeman decided to bring in Sam Hartman and then Riley Leonard over the past two seasons. This is not a knock on CJ Carr or Kenny Minchey, it’s just that they lack the necessary experience to make up for some mistakes. Hopefully I’m wrong, but a starter has yet to emerge, even though many believe it will be Carr taking the field with the offense against Miami. Without one being named, it’s not going to be easy preparing for the season as they continue to split reps in camp, and could lead to more than a few rocky moments.

Injuries

Adding onto the fact that the quarterback will be making their first start on the road, it will be against a very solid Hurricanes team. It won’t get much easier in Week 3 following an early season off-week, as the Irish will host Texas A&M, another expected ranked team. They do get a break against Purdue, but then will have to travel to Arkansas, followed by three consecutive home games starting with Boise State, a CFP participant last year, NC State and then USC. The second half of the schedule is much easier, but the early portion could doom the Irish and knock them out of contention quickly.Contact/Follow us @IrishWireND on X (Formerly Twitter), and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Notre Dame news, notes, and opinions.Yesterday, it was all about why Notre Dame will make the College Football Playoff, but we have to play the other side of the coin as well.