Ranking every College Football Playoff team in history

18. Notre Dame Fighting Irish – 2019

Lost to Clemson in Semifinal (Cotton Bowl), 30-3

Whenever the Notre Dame Fighting Irish were trounced by the Clemson Tigers in the Cotton Bowl for their CFP semifinal matchup, the thought was that it was proof that they had no business being in the final four teams of the college football season. After having seen how things played out for Clemson in the title game against Alabama, though, perhaps they weren’t as much of a dumpster fire as we believed.

Having said that, there is no doubt that the Fighting Irish were 100 percent embarrassed against Clemson and did nothing to help their cause in terms of proving that they belonged on a national stage, no matter what their record was at the end of the season.

There was always the belief entering the Cotton Bowl that the Irish would struggle a bit in terms of Ian Book and the offense. That was indeed the case as Book struggled mightily and the rushing game got nothing going throughout the game. What was really disappointing was the defense, though, as Trevor Lawrence and Travis Etienne did whatever they wanted to against a unit that was supposed to be one of the best defensive units in the country.

Should Notre Dame have been in the Playoff? It’s possible that the answer is no. However, it’s also possible that there was only one team that was elite this season and Notre Dame happened to play them. With that shred of optimism, the Fighting Irish climb a little bit above the cellar of these rankings.