No. 3 Notre Dame (8-0) will learn its real standing Tuesday evening at 7 ET (ESPN) when the College Football Playoff selection committee releases its first ranking. The Irish will certainly be in the top four, and any order beyond that is a debate in semantics before top-10 matchups like this weekend’s between Alabama and LSU.
Of course Notre Dame would rather slot in ahead of LSU, creating a glimmer of hope that the Tigers could beat the Tide and the Irish remain ahead of them, moving up to No. 2. If LSU begins the rankings season ahead of Notre Dame, then there is suddenly the vague possibility of a Tigers victory not dropping Alabama behind the Irish, keeping Brian Kelly & Co.