Sep 7, 2024; South Bend, Indiana, USA; Northern Illinois Huskies running back Antario Brown (1) celebrates after the Huskies defeated the Notre Dame Fighting Irish 16-14 at Notre Dame Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matt Cashore-Imagn Images
One of the leading voices in college football is piling on the Notre Dame Fighting Irish after the team’s poor showing against Northern Illinois.
The fallout from the 16-14 loss to a then-unranked MAC team continues.
Sports Illustrated’s Pat Forde has a weekly series with the 12 teams that had their playoff dreams crushed, and Notre Dame leads his series this week.
“Following up a hard-nosed victory at the Texas A&M Aggies with this dud of a home opener immediately increases the heat on Freeman for the rest of this season,” Forde writes.
Northern Illinois celebrates scoring a touchdown during a NCAA college football game between Notre Dame and Northern Illinois at Notre Dame Stadium on Saturday, Sept. 7, 2024, in South Bend.
It’s been a theme in the days following the stunning loss — can Notre Dame, the same team that seemed guaranteed a playoff spot just days before playing NIU, qualify?
What happens against Purdue will start to determine the answer. Until then, the analysts and pundits can merely speculate.
It’s tricky, since both sides can be argued, and since Notre Dame doesn’t have a chance for an automatic bid via a conference championship.
The Irish can start providing answers on Saturday.
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This article originally appeared on Fighting Irish Wire: Notre Dame leads list of crushed College Football Playoff dreams
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/notre-dame-leads-list-crushed-230543012.html
Author : Fighting Irish Wire
Publish date : 2024-09-10 23:05:43
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