ESPN FPI: Notre Dame Has Incredibly Low Odds To Make The College Football Playoff
It would seem the ESPN Football Power Index believes Notre Dame is going to take a huge step back in 2020. In its latest updated rankings, the FPI has Notre Dame as the 16th team in the country, and its odds to make it back to the College Football Playoff are incredibly low.
Considering Notre Dame has gone 23-3 the last two seasons and returns 16 players with starting experience - including its quarterback and all five starting offensive linemen - it is quite surprising to see the Fighting Irish ranked as low as No. 16.
After stringing together a 10-3, 12-1 and 11-2 record the last three seasons, the FPI projects that Notre Dame will fall off and go 8-4 this season. ESPN gives Notre Dame just a 3% chance to reach the College Football Playoff. The Irish have lower odds than Texas (10%), a program that has gone 25-15 the last three seasons and is coming off an 8-5 season. It also has lower odds than UCF (10%) and USC (5%).
It should be no surprise that Clemson is the No. 1 ranked team in the FPI, but seeing Wisconsin at No. 4 after it lost All-American running back Jonathan Taylor and All-American center Tyler Biadasz, as well as its leading receiver and top two playmakers on defense, was quite surprising.
Notre Dame hosts Clemson on Nov. 7 and plays Wisconsin at Lambeau Field on Oct. 3.
The Irish have defeated USC in four of their last five matchups, but the Trojans are projected to finish better than Notre Dame. USC is ranked 13th in the FPI and is projected to go 9-3 this season.
Notre Dame ends the 2020 regular season with a contest against the Trojans in the Los Angeles Coliseum.
Louisville travels to South Bend on Nov. 21, and the Cardinals are the fourth highest ranked team on the Irish schedule, at least according to the FPI, which ranks Louisville 20th and projects an 8-4 record for head coach Scott Satterfield in his second season.
Here is the ranking for the remainder of Notre Dame’s 2020 regular season schedule (2019 record in parenthesis):
#31 Stanford (4-8)
#50 Georgia Tech (3-9)
#52 Navy (11-2)
#56 Pittsburgh (8-5)
#59 Arkansas (2-10)
#60 Duke (5-7)
#65 Wake Forest (8-5)
#93 Western Michigan (7-6)
Seeing Texas and Texas A&M, teams that went 8-5 last season, ahead of Notre Dame was curious to say the least. Another shocker was Northwestern - who went 3-9 last season - ranked 25th. Florida State was ranked 26th in the FPI.
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