LOS ANGELES — Notre Dame will be the 10th team to make the College Football Playoff. Beating USC 24-17 assured the Irish of that, a chance to truly measure themselves against college football’s best. Thinking back to the preseason, no expectations anticipated this moment, except for those within the team.
An earlier draft of these ramblings added an “apparently” to the end of that initial paragraph, but that would imply some version of doubt of that sentiment. Notre Dame made it very clear after the comeback victory: This was how things were supposed to be. Once in the locker room, social media videos show the Irish enjoyed themselves and relished some sense of relief, but the initial celebrations, the onfield outbursts, the usual moments of exuberance were all very calm, even demurred.