Notre Dame Ranked #4 In First Official College Football Playoff Rankings For 2018

The Notre Dame Fighting Irish were placed in the top three in both the USA Today Coaches Poll and the AP Poll. As the 8-0 Irish continue their march towards the College Football Playoff, the CFP released their own official rankings on Tuesday evening live on ESPN. To the surprise of some, Notre Dame were ranked one spot lower at #4.

Rounding out the top four were #1 Alabama, #2 Clemson, and #3 LSU.

The schedule for this year’s College Football Playoff (as of now) is as follows:

Semifinal #1 - Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic - AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas

4 p.m. or 8 p.m. ET on ESPN on December 29th

Semifinal #2 - Capital One Orange Bowl - Hard Rock Stadium in Miami, Florida

4 p.m. or 8 p.m. ET on ESPN on December 29th

College Football Playoff National Championship - Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California

8 p.m. ET on ESPN on January 7th

Here’s the full CFP Top 25:

If Notre Dame wins out their final four games, they will most likely keep their ranking and enter the CFP as the #4 seed.

The only team left on Notre Dame’s schedule who appears in the CFP Top 25 is Syracuse at #19, who play the Irish in Yankee Stadium on November 17th.

Another Notre Dame opponent from this year in Michigan sits just outside the top four at #5.

The Irish next take the field this Saturday, November 3rd, against the unranked Northwestern Wildcats in Evanston, Illinois.

Do the Irish deserve to be below an LSU team with a loss on their record? We of course don’t think so, but let us know what you think below.