Notre Dame has been on more trips to Ann Arbor, Mich., to take on the Michigan Wolverines in “The Big House” than most other teams that are not in the Big Ten, if not all of them. Never, though, will the Fighting Irish have played in a game at Michigan Stadium with higher stakes than a matchup On3’s Andy Staples is predicting just under three months before the 2024 college football season starts.
How about No. 9 Notre Dame at No. 8 Michigan in a first-round College Football Playoff game?
The CFP is in its first season of a 12-team format after 10 years of a four-team system. The top four seeds will be given to the highest-ranked conference champions, and that quartet gets to sit out the first round. The consolation for not being a top-four seed is the opportunity to play a do-or-die game on an electric college campus, though.
In Staples’ scenario, Notre Dame would be the highest-ranked road team in the first round. The No. 5 seed hosts the No. 12 seed, No. 6 hosts No. 11, No. 7 hosts No. 10 and No. 8 hosts No. 9. There will certainly be decision-day bickering. Some will argue it should be Notre Dame hosting Michigan. Nevertheless, somebody’s gotta be the 9 need. And in a year in which Irish head coach Marcus Freeman is feeling the heat to simply get his team in the dance, he’ll probably take it.
Here’s a look at Staples’ playoff picks as of early June.
Andy Staples’ 2024-25 College Football Playoff matchup predictions
First-round byes
No. 1 Ohio State
No. 2 Georgia
No. 3 Florida State
No. 4 Kansas State
First-round matchups
No. 12 Boise State at No. 5 Alabama
No. 11 Tennessee at No. 6 Oregon
No. 10 Ole Miss at No. 7 Texas
No. 9 Notre Dame at No. 8 Michigan
The next round
Boise State/Alabama winner vs. No. 4 Kansas State in the Fiesta BowlTennessee/Oregon winner vs. No. 3 Florida State in the Peach BowlOle Miss/Texas winner vs. No. 2 Georgia in the Sugar BowlNotre Dame/Michigan winner vs. No. 1 Ohio State in the Rose Bowl
Notre Dame potentially playing Michigan and Ohio State in back-to-back playoff games is a perfect snippet displaying just how intriguing the 12-team format will be. Blue bloods will be knocking off blue bloods, and any team’s path to a national title well be hard-fought and well-earned. Just a few more months until it plays out for real for the first time.
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