One thing hasn't changed in the 12-team College Football Playoff picture: Independent Notre Dame is still an X factor.
When the 13-member CFP selection committee meets next week for its first ranking of the season, one of its most significant discussions will center around one-loss Notre Dame, which each week continues to distance itself from the home loss to Northern Illinois and also has a critical head-to-head win against surging Texas A&M.
Head-to-head results are one of several tiebreakers the committee uses to separate teams with the same record -- just like last year, when Texas won at Alabama in Week 2.