Bagpipe Monday: Where Should Notre Dame Be Ranked In The College Football Playoff Rankings?

WELCOME WELCOME WELCOME to another Bagpipe Monday on One Foot Down! Friends, the Notre Dame Fighting Irish are ROLLING. And yes... that is a totally intentional use of the word, “rolling” as a part of the #33trucking Heisman Campaign for Josh Adams.

Everything is fun right now. The Irish are 7-1, throttling their opponents, running the football, playing great defense, and basically plotting world college football domination.

@phillykelly

Hell, they are even beating the crap out of one another because there is nothing else better to do when Josh Adams breaks another big ass run. Yeah, Quenton Nelson and Sam Mustipher are totally guilty of being awesome.

So, yeah... 2017 has been incredible so far. So much so, that after beating the #14 N.C. State Wolfpack 35-14, the Irish are firmly in the mix for the College Football Playoff.

It’s pretty funny, because the last two weeks have seen the Irish beat two top 15 teams by 21+ points, but it feels like they have been glossed over by the national media. Maybe it’s because they were on NBC, or maybe I’m just being tone deaf - I’m not sure.

What can’t be denied, and isn’t being denied, is that the Irish are a really, really good football team right now, and they are absolutely one of the best on the country.

• #10 Scoring Defense 16.1 ppg
• #11 Scoring Offense 40.5 ppg
• Allowed only 1 rushing TD
• #12 Strength of Schedule (Sagarin)
• #6 Rushing Offense

We could pile incredible Notre Dame football stats on stats on stats ON STATS here, but none of those would supersede what we have all seen with our own two eyes.

The Notre Dame Fighting Irish are excellent - but how excellent right now? Where will the college football playoff committee place the Irish when this season’s first set of rankings are released Tuesday night?

Surprisingly for Irish fans, most pundits have placed Notre Dame inside the top 4. Surprising because we have become so accustomed to feeling slighted. The reality is that the Irish were in a similar position in 2015, and were ranked #5 with the same type of 7-1 record.

It’s anybody’s guess where they might land on Tuesday night, but if the Irish wish to finish in the top 4, they obviously need to win the rest of their games (this week’s game is against the Wake Forest Demon Deacons) - and do so in a similar fashion as the 7 wins they already have.

After thinking about it over and over again, I predict:

1. Georgia Bulldogs
2. Alabama Crimson Tide
3. Notre Dame Fighting Irish
4. Clemson Tigers
5. Ohio State Buckeyes

How exciting!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN... Here are your weekly pipes: