SOUTH BEND — Notre Dame football finally got a meaningful sense of just how costly its Week 2 loss was to Northern Illinois.
In the first College Football Playoff rankings of the 2024 season, the 13-member selection committee placed the Irish (7-1) at No. 10. Notre Dame projects to open the 12-team playoff at Penn State, ranked sixth.
Unbeaten Indiana was ranked eighth and projects to open at Tennessee in the 8-9 game.
The four highest-ranked conference champions according to the CFP will receive first-round byes. The fifth highest-ranked conference champion will also be included in the inaugural 12-team bracket.
Notre Dame has just one remaining game against a CFP-ranked team: Nov. 23 at Yankee Stadium against No. 25 Army (8-0). Two Irish victims thus far made the first CFP rankings: No. 14 Texas A&M (7-2) and No. 22 Louisville (6-3).
Selection Sunday will be Dec. 8 with first-round games at campus sites scheduled for Dec. 20-21.
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Coming off its second and final bye week of the regular season, Notre Dame dropped two spots to No. 10 in the Associated Press media poll on Sunday. In the US LBM Coaches Poll, the Irish move one spot to No. 8.
Five one-loss teams were ranked ahead of Notre Dame in both the AP and the coaches’ polls: Georgia, Ohio State, Texas, Penn State and Tennessee.
Michigan athletic director Warde Manuel is this year’s CFP selection committee chair.
Mike Berardino covers Notre Dame football for the South Bend Tribune and NDInsider.com. Follow him on social media @MikeBerardino.
This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: Where did Notre Dame football land in College Football Playoff rankings
