Notre Dame sent clear College Football Playoff warning after Week 1

Notre Dame football came away from Week 1 unscathed, taking down Wisconsin 41-13. However, they’ll need to up their performance to be true College Football Playoff contenders.

The Fighting Irish’s path is clear. If they finish inside the final top 12, Notre Dame will qualify for the playoff. They have two – as of this writing – ranked opponents in Miami and BYU. The Irish must take care of business against their unranked foes and will expected to win their close-knit battles. If Notre Dame were to stumble at any point, their CFP standing then comes in question.

Exiting Week 1, the Fighting Irish find themselves firmly off the bubble and in the CFP mix. But another first half like they had against Wisconsin could bring doom, argues Heather Dinich of ESPN.

“The first half wasn’t pretty — and there’s plenty to work on — but the Irish got a gut-check moment against Wisconsin in Lambeau Field on Saturday that not a lot of other title contenders did,” Dinich wrote. “The defense — particularly in the secondary — lived up to the hype as one of the most elite units in the country, but the offense was pedestrian at best before finding its stride in the second half.”

“This year, Notre Dame is guaranteed a spot in the CFP as long as it finishes in the committee’s top 12 on Selection Day,” she continued. “The Irish would have to collapse to be excluded, but if they were to lose to both BYU and Miami, they would again open the door for debate.”

Notre Dame’s second half comeback 

Notre Dame went into halftime with just a 13-10 advantage. However, they came out firing after the break. All three of the Fighting Irish’s second half drives went for touchdowns. Two of them were from running back Aneyas Williams, who ran for 90 yards alongside his scores on 20 carries.

Quarterback CJ Carr found Nolan James for a 28-yard touchdown pass to put the final nail in the coffin. He completed 19-of-29 passes for 239 yards and two touchdowns overall.

Including a DJ McKinney returning a pick-six for 55 yards, it was all Notre Dame after halftime. The key will be for the Fighting Irish to find their explosiveness much earlier moving forward. Their next opportunity will come at home against Rice.

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