The first College Football Playoff rankings came out Tuesday night and Notre Dame is knocking on the door.
The Irish (7-1) were ranked fifth by a playoff committee that will ultimately name the four participants in the national college playoff later this year.
Clemson was ranked No. 1 followed by LSU, Ohio State and Alabama.
Last month’s two-point loss at Clemson has apparently kept the Irish just outside of the elite but still in strong contention. And with four games still to play there’s still time for Notre Dame to move up and join the four-team national playoff field.
Last Saturday’s 24-20 come-from-behind victory over then-No. 21 Temple also helped the Irish hit No. 8 in the latest Associated Press national rankings.
“I think our last four games have been as good as anybody that’s played in the country,” Irish coach Brian Kelly said this week. “I don’t know where it stands up exactly. I just know we played a very good schedule in the month of October. We have to win more games, but I’ll stand up our schedule to anybody else right now.
Kelly told his team to deal with what’s immediately ahead, starting with Saturday’s game at Pitt.
“What you can control is the last month,” he said. “You’ve been tested against very good football teams, three of them undefeated and one being USC. That should bode well as we work through the month of November.”
Pitt (6-2, 4-1 ACC) is coming off a 29-16 home loss to North Carolina that cost them a spot in the Top 25. The Panthers were No. 23 — their highest ranking of the season — before the defeat.
One priority ahead for Notre Dame is correcting mistakes, including red zone inefficiencies.
“Cleaning up obviously mistakes in the red zone, scoring opportunities, and then defensively continuing to shore (and not give) up the big plays,” Kelly said. “Last couple weeks obviously we’ve come up with two big picks late. ”
Last Saturday against Temple, QB DeShone Kizer helped rescue the Irish when he hit wide receiver Will Fuller with a 17-yard touchdown pass with2:09 left in the game for a 24-20 lead.
Cornerback KeiVarae Russell then intercepted a pass to end a threat by the previously unbeaten Owls.
It was the third time this season that Kizer, a sophomore, has led Notre Dame to comeback victories.
Notre Dame’s only stumble this year was a 24-22 setback at Clemson on Oct. 3.
NOTES, QUOTES
PLAYERS TO WATCH
–QB DeShone Kizer’s second quarter 79-yard TD run was the second-longest in school history by a quarterback. He finished the game with 143 rushing years, second-most ever by an Irish signal-caller.
–WR Will Fuller broke the 2,000-yard plateau in career receiving and now has 2,002. He also collected his 25th TD grab, fourth-best in Irish history.
–CB KeiVarae Russell made his second interception of the year in the game’s waning moments, the other one coming on Oct. 17 against USC.
–TE Alize Jones’ fourth quarter 45-yard catch was his career-long.
–PK Justin Yoon has made each of his last seven field goals and is 10 of 12 on the season.