Notre Dame Ranked Among The Best Programs Of The College Football Playoff Era
We are now entering the 11th season of the College Football Playoff era, and Sporting News looked back at the first ten years. In his analysis, Sporting News college football writer Bill Bender ranked Notre Dame as the 8th best program of the playoff era.
Bender's rankings come from a combination of on-field success (record, playoff appearances, New Year's Six appearances) and non win-loss results (NFL Draft picks, Heisman Trophy winners, consensus All-Americans).
"Notre Dame belongs in the top 10 on the strength of multiple CFP appearances and six seasons with double-digit wins. The Irish did finish 4-8 in 2016, but they are 63-13 in the last six seasons. The only schools with better records are Alabama, Ohio State, Georgia and Clemson. The Irish have slipped out of the top 10 in NFL Draft picks since 2014, and Marcus Freeman led the team to nine wins in 2022. Notre Dame marks the end of the second tier of schools on this list. There is another drop before we reach No. 9." - Bill Bender, Sporting News
Notre Dame was just three points behind the No. 7 team (Michigan), but it's 24.5 points ahead of the No. 9 team (Oregon).
The grading system Bender uses allowed Michigan to rank ahead of Notre Dame, but I'd argue the the Irish should definitely be ahead of the Wolverines. A case could be made in some ways that Notre Dame has been the more consistent program over LSU, who ranked No. 6, but LSU has a title, and that means a lot to me.
Regarding the Notre Dame vs Michigan comparison, I'd argue the criteria should be altered a bit, as the non win-loss factors are what put Notre Dame behind Michigan.
Notre Dame had a better record from 2013-22 than did Michigan, with the Irish going 94-34 while Michigan went 86-38. Notre Dame had six 10+ win seasons while Michigan has five 10+ win seasons. Notre Dame had just one losing record and Michigan had two.
The two teams played each other twice in the CFP era. Notre Dame beat Michigan in 2014 (31-0) and 2018 (24-17), while Michigan won in 2013 (41-30) and 2019 (45-14). Both teams also made two College Football Playoff appearances, and neither team won a playoff game. They also had the same number of consensus All-Americans (9).
Notre Dame earned more points for the on-field results, but Michigan has the edge based on NFL Draft picks and the fact its league has more NY6 bowl tie-ins than Notre Dame. If anything, Notre Dame winning more games with fewer NFL Draft picks shows an even stronger program situation.
For me, the on-field results that matter should have Notre Dame ranked ahead of Michigan and slide into the No. 7 spot.
Here is the Top 25:
1. Alabama
2. Clemson
3. Ohio State
4. Georgia
5. Oklahoma
6. LSU
7. Michigan
8. Notre Dame
9. Oregon
10. Wisconsin
11. Florida
12. Penn State
13. Utah
14. Florida State
15. Washington
15. TCU (tied with UW)
17. Iowa
18. Boise State
19. Michigan State
19. USC (tied with MSU)
21. Appalachian State
22. Texas
23. Cincinnati
23. Auburn
23. Miami (tied with Cincy, Auburn)
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