It is an awkward time of year when looking outward. Most of Notre Dame’s opponents are not inherently good, and the College Football Playoff selection committee has long made it clear it cares most about good victories, not just okay wins or bad losses.
Meanwhile, that committee does not release its first ranking for another six days, so any suggestions of the national pecking order are conjecture at best, perhaps educated conjecture, but based largely in speculation, nonetheless.
Oh, and the engine behind this space has learned to never again host a bachelor party during football season because the food poisoning gods are undefeated in ways even Alabama cannot imagine.