The most revealing snippet from Tuesday night’s cluttered snapshot of a Notre Dame football playoff portrait that will be completed Sunday wasn’t the second-to-last ranking/seeding, but a bit of clarity about who his first-round playoff opponent is NOT WILL be.

Little is the operative word.

And for the record, Notre Dame was ranked fourth by the College Football Playoff selection committee as of Tuesday night, behind 1. Oregon, 2. Texas and 3. Penn State.

The question became whether the Irish (11-1) would overtake Penn State (11-1) in the CFP Top 25 after the Irish (11-1) handed USC (6-6) its worst loss of the season, 49-35 in LA on Saturday spoiled by Michigan’s upset of previously second-ranked Ohio State on Saturday.

This marks the Nittany Lions’ 13th game, playing No. 1 Oregon (12-0) in the Big Ten Championship Game on Saturday night. Penn State beat the Trojans 33-30 in overtime on Oct. 12, an interesting comparative data point.

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This matchup between Penn State and Oregon will now, more than anything else from this point forward, determine where Notre Dame lands in the final rankings and seedings of Sunday’s four-hour unveiling of the College Football Playoff on ESPN, which also includes the final rankings and bowl will matchups and both real and artificial consternation.

If Penn State upsets the Ducks, both would likely be ranked above ND, and the Irish would likely be seeded sixth. If Oregon wins, especially if it’s not a real opponent, the Irish would likely be the No. 5 seed ahead of the Nittany Lions.

As a reminder, the four highest-ranked conference champions will be seeded 1-4 in the first-ever 12-team round AND will receive first-round byes. Because of this, Notre Dame’s ranking does not match the rankings, with its best possible ranking being #5.

The fifth-highest seed among the nine conference titlists will also be included in the 12-team field, but will not have a preferred seed or bye.

Seeds 5-8 host seeds 12-9 in first round games on the 20th/21st. December. The quarterfinals will take place on December 31st/January. 1, the semi-finals will take place on 9/10. January and the championship game in Atlanta on January 20th.

Aside from the Big Ten title game, which directly impacts Notre Dame’s playoff path and final ranking, five of the other nine title games this weekend will likely play a role in their seeding, playoff opponent and ranking/assessment.

Those five are SEC (Georgia vs. Texas), ACC (SMU vs. Clemson), Big 12 (Arizona State vs. Iowa State), Mountain West (Boise State vs. UNLV) and American Athletic (Army vs. Tulane).

Behind the Irish 5-12 in the rankings – for the next five days – are 5. Georgia (10-2), 6. Ohio State (10-2), 7. Tennessee (10-2), 8. SMU ( 11-1), 9. Indiana (11-1), 10. Boise State (11-1), 11. Alabama (9-3) and 12. Miami (10-2).

Because of this configuration and the unsettled conference titles, ND’s first-round opponent at Notre Dame Stadium will come from a pool of Mountain West, Big 12 and ACC teams, as well as Alabama or Indiana.

The Irish would host Alabama in Tuesday’s simulated round. But that can change.

Appearing to be eliminated from Tuesday’s rankings are No. 14 South Carolina (9-3), No. 13 Ole Miss (9-3) and No. 12 Miami.

FRIDAY

(All times Eastern)

CUSA: Western Kentucky (8-4) vs. Jacksonville State (8-4), 7 p.m., CBSSN

Mountain West: UNLV (10-2) vs. Boise State (11-1), 8 p.m., FOX

AAC: Tulane (9-3) vs. Army (11-1), 8 p.m., ABC

SATURDAY

Big 12: Iowa State (10-2) vs. Arizona State (10-2), noon, ABC

MAC: Ohio (9-3) vs. Miami, Ohio (8-4), noon, ESPN

SEC: Georgia (10-2) vs. Texas (11-1), 4 p.m., ABC

Sun belt: Marshall (9-3) vs. Louisiana (10-2), 7:30 p.m., ESPN

Big Ten: Penn State (11-1) vs. Oregon (12-0), 8 p.m., CBS

ACC: Clemson (9-3) vs. SMU (11-1), 8 p.m., ABC

Always east

FIRST ROUND (December 20-21)

Friday, December 20th: 8 p.m. | ABC/ESPN

Saturday, December 21st: 12 p.m. | TNT

Saturday, December 21st: 4 p.m. | TNT

Saturday, December 21st: 8 p.m. | ABC/ESPN

QUARTERFINAL (December 31st – January 1st)

Fiesta Bowl: 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, December 31 | ESPN

Peach Bowl: 1 p.m. Wednesday, January 1 | ESPN

Rose Bowl: Wednesday, January 1, 5 p.m. | ESPN

Sugar Bowl: 8:45 p.m. Wednesday, January 1 | ESPN

SEMIFINAL (January 9-10)

Orange Bowl: 7:30 p.m. Thursday, January 9 | ESPN

Cotton Bowl: 7:30 p.m. Friday, January 10 | ESPN

CHAMPIONSHIP

CFP National Championship Game: 7:30 p.m. Monday, January 20 | ESPN

Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia.

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