The Notre Dame Fighting Irish moved up one spot in the College Football Playoff rankings in the penultimate week of action.

1. Oregon Ducks
2. Texas Longhorns
3. Penn State Nittany Lions
4. Notre Dame Fighting Irish
5. Georgia Bulldogs
6. Ohio State Buckeyes
7. Tennessee Volunteers
8. SMU Mustangs
9. Indiana Hoosiers
10. Boise State Broncos
11. Alabama Crimson Tide
12. Miami Hurricanes
13. Ole Miss Rebels
14. South Carolina Gamecocks
15. Arizona State Sun Devils
16. Iowa State Cyclones
17. Clemson Tigers
18. BYU Cougars
19. Missouri Tigers
20. UNLV Rebels
21. Illinois Illinois
22. Syracuse Orange
23. Colorado Buffaloes
24. Black Knights of the Army
25. Memphis Tigers

These rankings give way to a more thoughtful playoff round. Remember: these are NOT predictions. They reflect the current rankings.

After Ohio State lost to the Michigan Wolverines, I knew the committee would simply leave Penn State one spot ahead of Notre Dame rather than let the Irish overtake them, as many believed after last week. They had every reason to take on the USC comparisons now, but instead they could wait until after the Big 10 Championship Game. It’s still likely that PSU will keep them over Notre Dame even if they lose, but we’ll have to see how the game plays out first.

I ran through a number of different scenarios and the Irish could be a 5, 6 or even 7 on Sunday – leaving a larger handful of possible opponents in South Bend.

Regardless, Notre Dame will have a home playoff game and will likely kick things off in the new 12-team playoff era on Friday night.

More will follow.