The Notre Dame Fighting Irish pushed themselves into the playoff conversation with a dominant 70-7 win over Syracuse and are currently projected as the No. 9 seed by On3's Andy Staples.
Coach Marcus Freeman and his unit must build on that performance and maintain consistency the rest of the way. With a favorable schedule ahead, the Irish have an opportunity to secure a playoff berth—if they avoid one final lapse. Don’t take the next game for granted and hope for the best.
What help the Irish's case is the past nine games. However, the losses to Miami and Texas A&M don't help. They're in the thick of it all because they're playing outstanding football. Not being up for a conference title game isn't a big factor, but would help.
A strong finish could validate their inclusion; slip up and they risk being sidelined over another SEC contender like Texas or Vanderbilt.
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