Notre Dame took care of Stanford in Week 14 and improved its record to 10-2. The win almost guaranteed a playoff spot for the Irish, given how the committee has viewed their head-to-head record with Miami. However, the game also carried a streak for Marcus Freeman that he wished never existed in the first place.

In their first 11 games of the season, the Irish failed to stop their opponents from scoring a touchdown. For a big part of the Stanford game, it looked like Notre Dame would end this streak. At the end of the 3rd quarter, the score read 42-6 with the Cardinal just managing two field goals.

But Stanford punched in two touchdowns in the final quarter. The first came early in the fourth when Elijah Brown hit Bryce Farrell on a 9-yard strike to cut it to 42–13 with a little over nine minutes left. Then, with about four minutes to go, Charlie Mirer (Notre Dame legend Rick Mirer’s son) led another drive and tossed a 3-yard touchdown to Marcus Brown. That wrapped things up at 49–20. It really stings when a game that should’ve been a blowout ends up looking closer than it actually was.

Notre Dame’s defense shut Stanford down to just 312 total yards. However, most of that didn’t even come until garbage time in the fourth quarter. It was long after the game was already wrapped up. By then, Notre Dame had already pulled most of their starters and put in the second string because of the big lead. If the starters had stayed on the field, they definitely could’ve stopped that late push.

Now, Notre Dame will enjoy a bye week since it won’t be featured in any of the championship games. They are currently No. 9 in the rankings, and besides a complete change of mind by the committee, their playoff spot looks secure.

The CFP committee’s nitpicking puts pressure

Notre Dame’s playoff bid has seen less pressure from the decision-makers and more from all the programs struggling to make the final 12. Miami, at No. 12, has been leading the charge. Both the programs finished their regular season at 10-2, but Mario Cristobal and the fans have been arguing for the committee to consider their head-to-head matchup against Notre Dame.

However, the committee has instead opted for an eye test. The Irish look like a much better team than Miami since their losses to the Canes and the Aggies. In their last 10 games, they have defeated ranked opponents like USC and Pittsburgh. Cristobal can even argue that they beat Pittsburgh better in their Week 14 game. Realistically, they won’t hold any weight when the committee assembles to give its rankings on Tuesday.

The only issue for Notre Dame could be a 10-3 Alabama if they lose their conference championship game. In this worst-case scenario, BYU will win its game against Texas Tech, giving two seats to the Big 12 in the final rankings.