The CFP committee was right to rank Notre Dame No. 11

The College Football Playoff committee ranked Notre Dame No. 11 on Tuesday, seven spots below its No. 4 rank in the AP Poll. This was shocking to many fans, primarily because they are 7-1 and has been regarded as one of the top teams this year. But when you really look into how they've played, it makes sense why the committee ranked them so low.

Notre Dame's eight opponents have a combined record of 28-37. Only two teams they've played have winning records, Wisconsin (5-3) and BYU (7-1), and Notre Dame is 1-1 against them. That win over the Badgers, 41-13, lost some of its value after Wisconsin loss 30-0 at Iowa. Three of their other wins came against Rice (1-7), Michigan State (2-6) and Navy (2-6).

CFP committee chairman Hunter Yurachek told ESPN that Notre Dame lacks that signature win and lost its only top-25 matchup. The teams ahead simply have more to show. Althought Indiana also lacks a signature win, they have played six opponents at .500 or better, four more than Notre Dame. Alabama also has a better resume, even with their two losses to ranked teams. A 7-1 record against a 28-37 combined record mostly shows a team that beats the teams it's supposed to beat. A ranking is supposed to separate teams that have won games that were still undecided in the fourth quarter. The Fighting Irish have played one, and it lost.

Notre Dame defense has lingering questions

The BYU loss showed why they sit so low. The Irish entered averaging 44 points and only ended with 24 points. CJ Carr completed 27 of 49 passes for 261 yards, and Notre Dame only converted 8 of 19 third downs. After halftime they only averaged 2.4 yards per carry, according to Deseret News. Nineteen third-down attempts mean they stalled on early downs, and no offense can count on converting long third or fourth downs all night. Carr's fumble while trying to spike the ball at the BYU 5-yard line, with six seconds left in the first half erased another chance to put points on the board.

Their defense has lingering questions too. Before BYU, Notre Dame allowed just 11 points per game, No. 4 in the nation, and 58.3 rushing yards , No. 3 in the nation. The Cougars then went to 86 rushing yards and 21 points in the first half alone. It shows that in their recent games they fix problems only after halftime, like in the game against Navy this past week. They gained 189 total yards in the first half, but in the second half only got 56. A better opponent will turn a slow first half into a lead that's harder to break, like how BYU did.

Their biggest priority is making sure they win against No. 1 Miami this week on Nov. 7. That would give them their signature win they're missing. However, if they lose that game they will be put in a tough place to make a case that they deserve to be in the playoffs. The rest of their schedule, after Miami, is three unranked teams.

Under this year's rules, a top-12 ranking guarantees Notre Dame a playoff spot, so No. 11 isn't the worst place to be sitting at. It's simple win this week and you've almost solidified a spot in the playoffs, lose and you may be left in the same situation as last year, being left out of the playoffs.