Prominent ESPN host leaves Irish out of college football playoff

Notre Dame cornerback Chance Tucker (18) participates in a drill during a Notre Dame football practice at Irish Athletic Center on Tuesday, Aug. 6, 2024, in South Bend.

Not every pundit and analyst has Notre Dame as a shoo-in for the [autotag]College Football Playoff[/autotag].

ESPN’s Matt Barrie has unveiled his predicted 12 playoff teams, and the Irish are notably absent.

His list is seemingly pretty uncontroversial until you reach the final three of Missouri, Utah, and Memphis. While Missouri is a popular pick for the back end of the field, Memphis over Notre Dame raises some eyebrows, even if Memphis could get in as a conference champion while Notre Dame’s independence limits it.

It’s not that Memphis won’t necessarily be good enough to qualify — I expect the Tigers to be in the hunt. It’s that I think an Irish team that should be improved over last season, and has a slightly easier than usual schedule which should result in having an easier path to the playoff.

Especially now that head coach Marcus Freeman is entering year three, and has had a chance to work out some of his issues.

That’s not to say a Notre Dame playoff appearance is a given. It never is for any team, injuries and bad luck happen, et cetera. And the Irish have had season-long letdowns more than a few times during my fandom.

Still, if the Irish are healthy and play up to expectations, they should be in the playoff, even if they do have a loss or two at regular season’s end. At the very least, it seems unlikely that they won’t be in while Ole Miss, Missouri, Utah, and Memphis are ALL in the CFP.

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This article originally appeared on Fighting Irish Wire: Prominent ESPN host…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/prominent-espn-host-leaves-irish-191112442.html

Author : Fighting Irish Wire

Publish date : 2024-08-23 19:11:12

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