Irish Breakdown

What Ohio State's Win Over Indiana Means for Notre Dame and College Football Playoff Outlook

Ohio State defends home turf and knocks Indiana from unbeatens

Nick Shepkowski

Nov 23, 2024; Columbus, Ohio, USA; Indiana Hoosiers punter James Evans (94) is tackled after recovering his fumble by Ohio State Buckeyes defensive end Caden Curry (92) and cornerback Lorenzo Styles Jr. (3) during the second quarter at Ohio Stadium.
Nov 23, 2024; Columbus, Ohio, USA; Indiana Hoosiers punter James Evans (94) is tackled after recovering his fumble by Ohio State Buckeyes defensive end Caden Curry (92) and cornerback Lorenzo Styles Jr. (3) during the second quarter at Ohio Stadium. / Joseph Maiorana-Imagn Images
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The Cinderella story was great for a quarter in Columbus on Saturday, but as the game went on Ohio State's defense took over and some special teams miscues sucked the life out of the previously unbeaten Indiana Hoosiers.

The question for Notre Dame fans is what Ohio State's dominating win over Indiana means for the Fighting Irish and the College Football Playoff.

Notre Dame Set to Move Up in Current Rankings

If you have followed this site for the last couple of months, then you already know where we're going with this.

Although getting a home game is important for Notre Dame, the seeding and matchups are more important if you're hope is to make a deep College Football Playoff run.

Indiana's loss wasn't close enough to not move the Hoosiers down a bit which by almost default, will move Notre Dame up, assuming the Irish handle business against Army on Saturday night.

The big thing for me the last couple of weeks has been how important it is for Notre Dame to get into the top six seeds in the CFP so it will not only get a home game, but then almost certainly avoid playing a Big Ten or SEC team in the second round.

Is Indiana Still a College Football Playoff Team?

The million-dollar question after Ohio State's impressive win is whether or not Indiana belongs in the College Football Playoff.

This game reminded me of Notre Dame's fairy tale season of 2012 a good amount. Indiana has beat up on inferior teams most the season and when a beast of one lined up across from it things didn't go particularly well.

That's not to say that Notre Dame wasn't one of the nation's 12 best teams in 2012 or that Indiana isn't one of the nation's 12 best this year.

Personally, Indiana deserves to fall in the rankings. But was it bad enough to fall seven spots and out of the CFP field?

I'll be very curious to see what the CFP committee does with the Hoosiers on Tuesday night, but based off their resume to date I think there is plenty there in terms of dominating who it needed to dominate, to sneak in as one of the final two at-large teams, which should be obviously interesting then to Notre Dame fans, too.

Perhaps the big winner of Indiana losing like it is the SEC. The conference saw Ole Miss get beat at Florida as the Gators moved to 6-5 on the year. The Hoosiers and Buckeyes drawing the most national attention Saturday, the SEC will see Tennessee just slide into the projected playoff this week while the Rebels move out after the Volunteers took it to *checks notes* UTEP.

Keep it locked to Notre Dame on Sports Illustrated as the rest of the day of college football plays out and we release our updated CFP projections after the Saturday action concludes.

Notre Dame vs. Army: Bold Predictions for Saturday Night Showdown

Note to the College Football Playoff Committee: Notre Dame Has What Texas Doesn't

What Notre Dame's Perfect College Football Playoff Draw Would Look Like and Require

Notre Dame Announces Depth Chart for Showdown vs. Unbeaten Army

Notre Dame Star Defender's Status Uncertain for Army Matchup

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Nick Shepkowski
NICK SHEPKOWSKI