College Football Playoff games: How a first-round loss would affect each team playing on opening weekend

No team wants to lose in the first round of the College Football Playoff, but there’s more at stake here than just wins and losses. For each team, a loss could confirm worst nightmares and validate what outside noise has been saying all season. 

The first round of the 12-team CFP era kicks off on Friday night as No. 7 seed Notre Dame hosts No. 10 seed Indiana, and the action lasts through Saturday with three more games on the slate featuring the top teams in the country. The stakes have never been higher amid College Football Playoff expansion, and when you’re considered one of those top teams in the country, the pressure to win only intensifies after a grueling season. 

For the eight teams scheduled to play in this inaugural postseason format, here’s what losing this weekend might entail for each squad taking the field. 

(10) Indiana at (7) Notre Dame 

Indiana: The Hoosiers are entering a prove-you-belong game. You know the deal by now. Indiana hasn’t looked great against the only two opponents of significance it’s faced this season — Michigan and Ohio State. Now the Hoosiers get another crack at proving they are in fact in the weight class, and what an opportunity it is against the Golden Domers. But a brutal loss in South Bend on Friday would only fuel the narrative that Indiana just is not yet ready for the big-time spotlight. 

Notre Dame: If it is at all possible for Notre Dame to ever fly under the radar, that’s what it’s doing this season. Since the worst loss of the season by any title contender against Northern Illinois, the Irish have been a buzzsaw behind a bludgeoning defense and an offense paced by running back Jeremiyah Love on the ground. Now, they host the in-state opponent they’d much rather thumb their noses at….

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Author : Richard Johnson

Publish date : 2024-12-20 17:06:00

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