Notre Dame vs. Florida State Not A Must-Win For Fighting Irish’s Playoff Hopes

By Nick Wilder @NickCWilder on October 16, 2014

Going into Saturday’s prime-time showdown between Notre Dame and Florida State, there are many things on the line for both teams. The dream of an undefeated season, the opportunity to make a statement to the whole country and perhaps the chance to elevate one of the team’s quarterbacks to the top of the Heisman Trophy rankings are just a few of the things at stake. However, in the case of the Fighting Irish, a loss would not automatically end their goal of making the College Football Playoff at the end of the regular season.

The Irish have been able to squeak out victories over North Carolina and Stanford the past two weeks, which has helped place them at No. 5 in the latest AP poll. The best team they have played against thus far was easily the Cardinals two weeks ago, but even after their tough matchup against No. 2 ranked Florida State, they’ll have more difficult games down the road.

Notre Dame would have the chance to make up a possible defeat at the hands of the Seminoles by winning a couple of key games left on their schedule. They still have to play currently No. 17-ranked Arizona State and No. 22 USC, with both games being on the road. The Stanford victory, coupled with those two wins, would make Notre Dame an intriguing one-loss playoff contender, assuming they win the rest of their games.

A loss to the reigning National Champions on the road in Tallahassee this weekend would be far from a catastrophic defeat. Moreover, most people believe the Seminoles will emerge victorious. These two factors would also work in the favor of the Fighting Irish.

Head coach Brian Kelly has recently stated that a defeat this weekend would not knock his team out of playoff contention based on the rugged schedule the team will still have to face. He added that it’s obviously a critical game, but the players don’t view it as a make-or-break situation.

There is clearly more on the line for Florida State going into Saturday’s tilt as the favorite to win. With a victory, Notre Dame would prove many doubters wrong and move up in the polls, but the Irish don’t need to put all of their chips in on this game for their College Football Playoff hopes to come to fruition.

Nick Wilder is a writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @NickCWilder and add him to your network on Google.