Miami vs. Notre Dame: Key Playoff Implications Ahead!

It's Miami-Notre Dame, John, on Saturday. This is a huge game. Number one Miami, who's 8-0. Notre Dame is 7-1. This is... This is a big game here, obviously, for college football playoff rankings. It's a 20-25 rematch. Miami won the opener 27-24. Thank So, listen, Miami's one of three unbeatens left. Malachi Toney, though, this is a big story that's kind of going under the radar. Malachi Toney is having ankle surgery, and he's out indefinitely. So that is a big loss for them. But in any case, John, this is one of the biggest matchups of the year. you. What do you got on it? As much as I hate to say this, these words have never wanted to come out of my mouth, but I like Notre Dame. Oh, is it because of the Tony thing? It's only because of the Tony thing. I think sometimes when you lose a dynamic wide receiver and people expect for these other guys to just pick it up, well, they're open because Malachi Tony's doing his thing. He's getting double covered, or they're putting somebody over the top, or there's safety help. New game plan to stop him. Now he's off the field. Marcus Freeman's a damn good coach. And Notre Dame this particular year, they're a good football team. Now, they ain't played nobody, but they're a good football team. They got hosed by BYU, and this is their first time back on the major stage this season after that. So they're going to be tuned up and ready to go. And I just think with this Malachi-Tony injury, I think that is going to kneecap the offense. Yes, they have other good players, but those other good players ain't him. He opens it up for the rest of these guys. And so now the attention is going to be fully focused on these other guys. Yeah, they're okay at tight end. Yeah, they're okay at wide receiver. The guys that they got in from the transfer portal, they led the other team they came from in receivers, but they were still behind Malachi Tony. And that's my whole point. I like Notre Dame for that specific reason and that specific reason only. He's the main staple and they're removing that staple. So now you're expecting guys to step up in a stage where they've never had to step up for Miami. And the thing is with Notre Dame, a lot of people say this, John, is that Notre Dame, they have such a weak schedule to that. They essentially have to win these big games. They lost to BYU, obviously, in that thriller at BYU in 28-24. And now they're playing a Miami team that's obviously looking like the best team in the nation so far. So they don't have any room for error like the Alabamas, like we were talking about, or the Georgias, right, where you're playing. Top 10, top 15, top 20 teams basically every week down the stretch. So if you lose one, oh, you'll go back to 10th or you'll go back to 12th. It's like Texas. Everyone thought Texas was out of it. Now they're winning again and they're starting to get themselves back into at least the conversation. But for Notre Dame, I feel like it's just every year it's going to be like this. But do you always buy into that or it's like, I don't believe in Notre Dame because they never play anybody? Or is this just a good football program that we should probably just respect anyways? It's, you know what, that's a very tough question when it comes to Notre Dame. I think this particular iteration of them, I think this is a good football team. I think most of the time, 8 out of 10 times, it's just hype. 8 out of 10 times, it is schedule. 8 out of 10 times, it's people giving them due that they don't deserve. This particular year, I think this is a good team. I think this is a very good Notre Dame team. But they always put themselves behind the eight ball when you only play two ranked teams a year. When USC told them, nah, we good, bro, because y'all don't want to do it on our terms, that was it for them. Once that came off their schedule, now they're looking around trying to play somebody, and this Miami game might be the last big game that they play all year long. And so, if I'm the committee, the committee is always going to get them in. This is why they went to, I think it was 12-team playoffs, because Notre Dame got shut out last time. And so, this idea that they're not going to be in, the committee will find a way to put them in because people travel for them and people watch them. And at the end of the day, it's still a business, believe it or not. And so, I expect for Notre Dame to get in, but to get in off of merit this year and not off of name. Do you think that's fair, though? Do you think that's right? Like, come on. You just, like, we both know that they don't play, and we were just talking about it, they don't play the competition of some of these other teams that are in the top 12. And just because it's Notre Dame, like we're going to give them the benefit of the doubt when there's probably other teams that are deserving of it. I mean, I remember it was, I don't even know if it was last year or the year before Alabama got in and everybody was disgusted over that. Cause they had two losses and it's like, they shouldn't have been there, but they gave it to them based on, I think merit and their name and like who they are. Right. So I don't know. I think a loss here, listen, they would have lost to BYU and Miami. Both teams that they're probably the two best teams on their schedule. And I wouldn't believe in them to be a playoff team. I would say this. If they lose to Miami, they're cooked. They're cooked. They're cooked. But they're getting in if they win, obviously, for sure. In the event that they don't win, watch the committee find a way to put them in as a two-loss team. I'm telling you right now.