Kirk Herbstreit Surprised by Historic College Football Powerhouse’s CFP Ranking - Sports Illustrated
By Google News Sports ·
Kirk Herbstreit called Notre Dame’s No. 11 spot in the first College Football Playoff rankings the biggest surprise of the release, and the ESPN analyst says Saturday’s game against top-ranked Miami will decide where the Irish land.
“The one thing, I guess, if there was a surprise, it would probably be that Notre Dame is sitting down there at 11,” Herbstreit said Tuesday night on “Nonstop,” the show he co-hosts with ESPN analyst Joey Galloway. “I was a little bit surprised by that.”
The 7-1 Irish entered the release at No. 4 in the AP poll, but the committee slotted them behind three two-loss teams in Alabama, Texas and Ole Miss. Committee chair Hunter Yurachek said Notre Dame doesn’t have “that signature win right now” and named a neutral-site victory over Wisconsin as its best result.
“If you play worst-case scenario, if Notre Dame were to somehow lose this game, you look at their résumé and, let’s face it, they’ve not been able to beat a lot of teams right now,” Herbstreit said.
Still, the Ohio State alum didn’t call the placement unfair.
“I don’t necessarily have a huge problem with where Notre Dame is,” Herbstreit said. “Based on who they’ve played, who they’ve beaten and who they lost to against their one ranked opponent, it’s not necessarily a shock that they are where they are.”
“If they win this game, then I think there’s really no discussion,” Herbstreit said. “I think they’ll shoot up the rankings, probably up into the top six or seven, depending on what happens this weekend with some of the other big games.”
Notre Dame also earns an automatic bid if it finishes in the committee’s top 12. That’s a change from last season, when the Irish finished No. 11 and missed the field after Miami passed them in the final rankings. Boston College and SMU visit…
Originally published by Google News Sports