The first CFP ranking of the season is here and it has caused a stir. The divisive nature of the ranking is synonymous with November football. The Notre Dame Fighting Irish (7-1) has designated the 10th spot, right near the cusp of the cutoff. Their efforts in this season warrant that placement. However, CFB guru Joel Klatt seems to suggest it may not be theirs for long.

In a video reacting to the CFP rankings, Klatt spoke at length about the predicament surrounding the independent program. “What are we going to do with Notre Dame? If you actually sit there and look at Notre Dame you think to yourself are they safe, even if they win out? I think the answer is maybe, maybe. What’s helping them right now is that they’re 2-0 against CFP [ranked] teams”.

Marcus Freeman’s side has been trouncing teams left and right all season. They’ve outscored their teams by a whopping 198 points in their 7 wins. That’s just over a 28-point average margin of victory. Yet, they are not discussed amongst the elite. Many believe their success is smoke and mirrors. Notre Dame plays the 75th toughest schedule in college football this year. Klatt shed light on how this could manifest itself.

The Fighting Irish opened the season strongly with a win against Texas A&M (no.14, 7-2) in their own backyard. They then beat the Louisville Cardinals (no.22, 6-3) at home. While these wins are the key to them being in the current playoff bracket, an issue arises. See, the difficulty for Notre Dame is, that there is no difficulty. Klatt expressed this notion too, saying “They have very little [quality] left on their schedule, very little. I’d like to say there’s not a lot of heat on the rest of that schedule.”

Notre Dame is expected to win out and finish with a cool 11-1 record. They only play one other ranked team, though, Army, who are placed at the bottom and potentially would not be seen as an impressive scalp given the history of Academy programs. This leaves Freeman’s guys in a bit of a lose-lose situation, as the chasing pack has a host of opportunities to leapfrog them.

Which teams and scenarios are Notre Dame at risk from?

The team directly behind Notre Dame in no.11 is Alabama. Bama faces no.15 LSU this weekend. One of these teams will inadvertently hold more stock than the ND within the committee after they win. That leaves almost no wiggle room for Marcus Freeman to make it through to December.

Another rationale is that the ACC and Big 12 conf. Champions could come from outside the current leaders. If a team manages to trounce no.4 Miami or no.9 BYU, they will automatically gain a berth at the expense of the team on the fringes of the top-12, which is likely going to be Notre Dame. This is a drawback of not being part of a conference.

The fact of the matter is, that Freeman’s outfit likely doesn’t control their own destiny. They would need results elsewhere to fall in place. What they must do is continue to win- and the massive margins would be welcomed too. ESPN’s Football Power Index (FPI) currently gives Notre Dame a 57.8% chance to make the postseason.