Nov. 11--Last week it was, "Hi, five" for Notre Dame when the first College Football Playoff rankings were released.
Tuesday night it was, "Bye, five; hello, four." The Irish moved up one position and will reside, at least for the next week, in one of the coveted top four spots behind Ohio State, Alabama and Clemson, which remained No. 1.
Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly said Tuesday afternoon he has no problem with a one-loss team being among college football's final four teams at the end of the season.
But that's where he draws the line.
"If I'm sitting there looking at the teams, you're looking at strength of schedule, the eye test, who they played, how they've played," Kelly said. "I think we all want to get it right, get the four best teams and have them play. I don't think that you can stumble more than once. I think that's where the cutoff point is."
The Irish and the Crimson Tide are the only teams with a loss in that group. The top four teams in the final rankings, released Dec. 6, will participate in a four-team playoff to determine the national champion.
Three one-loss teams were in the field of four last year.
The Irish are 2-1 against teams in the Top 25, with victories against Temple and Navy and a two-point loss to Clemson. The Irish face No. 7 Stanford in the regular-season finale Thanksgiving weekend.
The second rankings are below:
1. Clemson
2. Alabama
3. Ohio State
4. Notre Dame
5. Iowa
6. Baylor
7. Stanford
8. Oklahoma State
9. LSU
10. Utah
11. Florida
12. Oklahoma
13. Michigan State
14. Michigan
15. TCU
16. Florida State
17. Mississippi State
18. Northwestern
19. UCLA
20. Navy
21. Memphis
22. Temple
23. North Carolina
24. Houston
25. Wisconsin
pskrbina@tribpub.com
