How Notre Dame Has Made the Seemingly Impossible Look Easy in 2025

But that's not the case anymore after Notre Dame beat USC for its fifth straight win on Saturday. In fact, ND has a 67% chance of making the CFP, per the New York Times, and if the CFP started today, the Irish would probably be in.

Now, let's be clear so there's no confusion. Notre Dame still has to win its remaining five regular-season games to make the playoff. No ifs, ands, or buts about it. The Irish won't get in if they lose again. In fact, I don't think any three-loss team makes the CFP, but that's a discussion for a different day.

But considering who Notre Dame has left on its schedule -- at Boston College, vs. Navy, at Pittsburgh, vs Syracuse, and at Stanford -- the likelihood the Irish win out is pretty high. Let's face it, none of those teams are on the same level as Miami or Texas A&M. In fact, there's a very good chance both those teams make the CFP, too.

I wrote about it last week. Notre Dame is exactly who we thought we were. Those first two games weren't necessarily bad losses; those teams -- Miami (FL) and Texas A&M -- are just legit National Championship Contenders. And you know what? Notre Dame is too.

I'm not sure anyone is on the same level as Ohio State, but outside of the Buckeyes, there are about six or seven teams in the nation that are good enough to play them for the National Title.

And to be honest, out of all the teams in the country that have lost at least one game and are on the cusp of qualifying for the CFP, Notre Dame might have the easiest path of them all. And you know what else Notre Dame doesn't have to worry about?

Losing a conference championship game.

The same can't be said for teams like Miami (FL), Oregon, Vanderbilt, or Texas Tech. If all these teams won out to close out the regular season but lost their conference title game, there's a decent chance they wouldn't make the CFP.

Fortunately, Notre Dame doesn't have to worry about that. All the Irish have to do is win their final five games, and they're almost a certain lock for the CFP.