The first College Football Playoff ranking has been released. And Notre Dame is the big winner, with the Irish coming in at a surprising No. 5.
As it sits on the first Tuesday in November, Notre Dame may currently be the odd man out at No. 5—but it also could be the best case scenario for Brian Kelly’s team, behind a top four of Clemson, LSU, Ohio State and Alabama. With a great strength of schedule and a compelling two-point loss to the Tigers, Notre Dame trails only Alabama among the one-loss teams, but sits in front of undefeated Baylor, Michigan State, TCU and Iowa in the Top 10.