Playoff Race Heats Up: Comparing Notre Dame and Indiana’s College Football Playoff Resumes

What if a College Football Playoff spot comes down to two Hoosier State teams?

Oct 26, 2024; East Rutherford, New Jersey, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish cornerback Leonard Moore (15) intercepts a pass intended for Navy Midshipmen running back Eli Heidenreich (22) in front of linebacker Jack Kiser (24) during the second half at MetLife Stadium. / Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

Notre Dame moved to 7-1 last week by disposing of Navy 51-14 and now is in the middle of its second of two bye weeks in 2024.

While the Fighting Irish sit eating cheeseburgers like Charlie Weis once described, a lot will happen this Saturday that will shape how the College Football Playoff (CFP) field ultimately looks.

One of those true contenders for a CFP spot through the first two months has been the best surprise story in the sport, Indiana.

Indiana's Remarkable Start to 2024 Season

This week’s polls are in. ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/yyum2OdC0V

— Indiana Football (@IndianaFootball) October 27, 2024

Curt Cignetti was hired last December to turn the Indiana football program around and he made quick work of that project.

Indiana sits at 8-0 through the season's first two-thirds and is yet to trail in any game while the Hoosiers also haven't allowed an opponent to score in a first quarter to date.

Indiana has outscored opponents 372-113 along the way and have turned out an all-time longshot performance in making a run at a Big Ten championship. Obviously if the Hoosiers win out, they'll go to the CFP, almost certainly as the No. 1 overall seed as that would mean wins over Ohio State and almost certainly Oregon or Penn State in the Big Ten championship game.

What if Indiana loses in two weeks at Ohio State, doesn't make the Big Ten championship game, but wins its other three remaining games? If it came down to it, should the then 11-1 Hoosiers be ranked above a potential 11-1 Notre Dame team?

Notre Dame Season Recap to Date

Oct 26, 2024; East Rutherford, New Jersey, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish head coach Marcus Freeman stands with his team for their alma mater after their game against the Navy Midshipmen at MetLife Stadium. / Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

Notre Dame has among the most impressive wins in the country, going on the road and beating Texas A&M in College Station to open the year. The Aggies keep winning in the SEC and that win keeps looking more impressive.

However, on the other side of the coin is what happened a week later. Notre Dame of course lost its home opener to Northern Illinois, a team that has gone just 4-4 overall this season. There probably won't be a worse loss by a playoff contender this season than that one.

Since then, Notre Dame has run off six consecutive victories, none of which have been particularly close.

Sure, the Louisville game finished being a one score difference and the stats aren't mega-impressive but if you watched the game, Notre Dame led the contest for the final 50 minutes and by two scores for more than 31 minutes of the game.

It hasn't come against a murderer's row of a schedule, but Notre Dame has been on fire since the Northern Illinois debacle.

Notre Dame vs. Indiana: Comparing 2024 Resumes

Indiana Head Coach Curt Cignetti leads the Hoosier onto the field before the start of the Indiana versus Nebraska football game at Memorial Stadium on Saturday, Oct. 19, 2024. / Rich Janzaruk/Herald-Times / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

It's weird to sit during Halloween week with an undefeated Big Ten team that is still yet to play anyone who is very good, but that's the case with Indiana.

The Hoosiers are 8-0 but sit at No. 13 in the most recent AP Poll because of the lack of competition they have faced. The signature win is at home against what is currently a 5-3 Nebraska team that hasn't won a big game since the Barack Obama was in his first term as President.

Winning with a backup quarterback is a big deal and that's what Indiana did last week in beating Washington, but that outfit in 2024 is a name brand built from last year more than it is a threat to win anything of value this season.

According to ESPN's strength of schedule to date, the Hoosiers check in with the 106th most difficult schedule in the nation. I'm not making up the fact that they've played nobody of significance to date because they truly haven't and the numbers back that up.

To have Notre Dame 8th with #iufb #13 is an insult to Indiana and logic. https://t.co/l8VjelbROk

— Kent Sterling (@KentSterling) October 29, 2024

According to that same metric, things will get significantly more difficult for Indiana down the stretch as it has the 17th toughest remaining schedule nationally. That includes trips to Michigan State and Ohio State, as well as hosting Michigan. The Hoosiers close the regular season by getting to put a whooping on rival Purdue, like every Group of Four team not named Illinois has done this season.

Meanwhile, Notre Dame sits at 7-1 on the bye week and seemingly having everything left to play for ahead of them.

We've discussed the signature win on Notre Dame's resume as well as the mind-boggling loss and the dominance since.

When it comes to Notre Dame in 2024, the argument against always begins with Northern Illinois and then shifts to not having played anybody yet.

Here's the thing with Notre Dame's schedule, though. Although it isn't stacked full of title contenders in 2024, it still ranks higher than several of the other teams in the College Football Playoff chase.

Notre Dame currently sits having played the 59th most difficult schedule to date in FBS, just slightly tougher than the middle of the pack. For reference, that ranks ahead of where Oregon, Penn State, Iowa State, Pittsburgh, and Clemson check in, as well as plenty of others.

What lies ahead for Notre Dame is the 49th most difficult remaining schedule, so somewhere in the mid-50's is likely where the Irish will finish in that department.

Why 11-1 Notre Dame Would Belong Over 11-1 Indiana

I'll preface this by saying a real stick in the spokes would be if Indiana won at Ohio State but lost one of its other three games before the end of the regular season. For sake of conversation, we'll go with what is projected to happen instead, although that certainly hasn't been the case very often this college football season.

11-1 Notre Dame and 11-1 Indiana, with its only loss coming at Ohio State.

Who gets in over the other, or gets the higher seed?

After researching it a bit it's crystal clear that it's Notre Dame and by a fairly wide margin.

I don't know who in the Big Ten office that Indiana administrators have pictures of, but the friendly schedule the Hoosiers have faced in conference this year is beyond generous. They'll go through the entire conference schedule having played one ranked team all season - the November 9 date at Ohio State.

Notre Dame mind you haven't played what is usually seen as one of the nation's most difficult schedules, but it still puts Indiana's to shame. Sure, Notre Dame crashed into a wall while going about 110 miles per hour after winning at Texas A&M but that's a very key part to all of this:

Winning at Texas A&M.

If Indiana doesn't beat Ohio State it won't have a win over ranked opponent all season. The Big Ten might not have scheduled another ranked team for them but the Hoosiers didn't exactly go out and find one either as their pre-conference slate was played against traditional powerhouses Florida International, Western Illinois, and Charlotte.

If both finish 11-1 the debate over who deserves to be ranked higher will take all of about eight seconds to decide - even with Notre Dame's loss to Northern Illinois.

The greater question will be if a one-loss Indiana team is more deserving of a potential playoff spot than a few potential two-loss Big Ten and SEC teams with the cupcakes it will have marched over to get there.

More From Notre Dame on Sports Illustrated

Notre Dame Soars into ESPN FPI's Top Five Following Rout of Navy

Did We Already See Marcus Freeman's Most Impressive Accomplishment at Notre Dame?