UNC football: Tar Heels can ruin Notre Dame’s College Football Playoff hopes
By John Buhler
UNC football could be the reason Notre Dame football misses the College Football Playoff.
Notre Dame should make the College Football Playoff, but UNC could play spoiler.
The No. 25 North Carolina Tar Heels will host the No. 2 Notre Dame Fighting Irish on Friday afternoon. Though the Tar Heels will need absolute chaos to even have a shot at playing in the ACC Championship game, this is a game where the Golden Domers could absolutely slip up. If they do, then it might be the first nail in the coffin, knowing almost certainly another one is coming.
Do we really think Notre Dame is beating Clemson twice this year?
North Carolina has a pair of bad losses to the Florida State Seminoles and the Virginia Cavaliers on the schedule. However, they have the talent, the coaching and the home environment in a sneaky game to pull off this stunning upset of Notre Dame. Should North Carolina do this, it puts all the pressure on Notre Dame going forward. Heck, they might even stumble again vs. Wake Forest.
Okay, maybe they will not, but the Demon Deacons are a well-coached team that does not beat itself. Ultimately, Notre Dame should be capable of getting to the ACC Championship game in Charlotte at a perfect 11-0 and 10-0 in ACC play. A loss to North Carolina does not eliminate them from the playoff conversation, but a loss in the title bout to presumably the Clemson Tigers will.
Notre Dame is talented, but the Golden Domers were also lucky to beat Clemson in the way they did. Everything lined up for the Irish that Saturday night. In the likely rematch, it will be at a neutral site, Clemson will have back their starting quarterback and the Tigers will be playing with a boulder on their shoulders. If Notre Dame beats Clemson twice, then good for them, but no way.
Even if Notre Dame loses the ACC Championship game to Clemson, there is still a decent chance the Irish still make the four-team field. However, if they lose to North Carolina on Friday evening and fall to Clemson in Charlotte in a few weeks, then there is no way in hell Notre Dame is getting in. This is why Notre Dame cannot afford to slip up here, but sweeping Clemson will be so hard.
A Tar Heels victory over the Irish puts Notre Dame’s playoff chances on life support.
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