Can Notre Dame win out to make the CFP? This college football analyst believes so

Can Notre Dame win out to make the CFP? This college football analyst believes so originally appeared on The Sporting News

Marcus Freeman and the Notre Dame Fighting Irish haven't gotten off to the start they were likely anticipating in the 2025 season. 

Just a few months removed from their second-place finish in the national championship to the Ohio State Buckeyes last January, the Irish kissed that momentum goodbye with two season-opening losses to the Miami Hurricanes and Texas A&M Aggies, both by a total of four points. 

However, the time to fret is not now, as not all hope is lost for the Irish. 

Joel Klatt Believes There Is Still Hope For Notre Dame

On a recent episode of The Joel Klatt Show, host Joel Klatt laid out why he believes that the Fighting Irish can still win out the rest of the season and still make the College Football Playoff with a 10-2 record. 

“I think Notre Dame comes all the way back, and they get into this thing,” the FOX Sports analyst and former quarterback said. “They are left for dead right now, but Notre Dame is going to come all the way back and be 10-2. If they run the table, they would get in. The losses would be, remember, at Miami, which was a tie game in the final two minutes, and A&M, one play away from winning that game.” 

With how the team has been the past two games since that loss to the Aggies, scoring 56 points in their wins against Purdue and Arkansas, and the lax nature of the remainder of their schedule, this is still definitely a possibility given the talent of the team. 

The team does have to play another CFP team from last year in Boise State this Saturday, but the team simply hasn't been the same since running back Ashton Jeanty was drafted in this year's NFL draft, giving the Irish all the more of a chance to get one step closer to the playoffs.