Desmond Howard: Go Ahead and Ink Notre Dame Into College Football Playoff If They Beat Texas A&M

Notre Dame facing a rare test early.

It's not even September but in some parts of the world it's already time to talk about what will and won't happen when the first 12-team College Football Playoff takes shape in several months. Like on Get Up, where Paul Finebaum and Desmond Howard discussed some intriguing Week 1 matchups and what they could ultimately mean. According to Howard, Notre Dame's test against Texas A&M means everything because it's the only real test obscuring their view of the playoff.

"If [Notre Dame] wins Saturday, you can just go ahead and write them in ink in the College Football Playoff," Howard concluded after ticking through what is admittedly an extremely weak Irish schedule after the trip to College Station.

"If [Notre Dame] wins Saturday [vs. Texas A&M], you can just go ahead and write them in ink in the College Football Playoff." 😯

—@DesmondHoward on Notre Dame vs. Texas A&M's Week 1 matchup pic.twitter.com/hLKq5V6V4k

— Get Up (@GetUpESPN) August 27, 2024

After Texas A&M, Notre Dame will face Northern Illinois, Purdue, Miami-Ohio, Louisville, Stanford, Georgia Tech, Navy, Florida State, Virginia, Army and USC. Such a non-gauntlet has many thinking they could go 12-0 or even 11-1. But here's the thing. Will 11-1 be enough? Without a conference championship game? Where, exactly, are the quality wins coming from to offset a bad loss?

Howard may end up being 100 percent correct. It's a take worth keeping an eye on. Especially for any network trying to entice audiences to watch Irish games happening after Week 1.