The No. 5 Notre Dame Fighting Irish defeated the USC Trojans 49-35 on Saturday to finish the regular season with an 11-1 record. With the win, have the Irish secured a spot as one of the twelve teams participating in the College Football Playoff?

Due to Notre Dame’s independent status, they will not participate in championship weekend while the country’s conferences determine their respective winners. As a result, the Irish are unable to secure one of the top four seeds in the CFP, as those are reserved for the top four seeded conference champions.

This completes Notre Dame’s resume and puts the Irish on course to compete in the postseason. The real question isn’t whether Notre Dame will make the CFP, but rather how high they will be ranked.

After a series of chaotic riots across the country, Notre Dame is one of the weekend’s bigger winners. The No. 2 Ohio State Buckeyes lost to the Michigan Wolverines, meaning Notre Dame is expected to move up one position in the current rankings. The Irish are clearly in the top 10 and a spot in the CFP is a foregone conclusion.

The Oregon Ducks and Penn State Nittany Lions will play in the Big Ten Championship. The Texas Longhorns and Georgia Bulldogs will compete for the SEC Championship. The ACC title game will be the Clemson Tigers vs. the SMU Mustangs, and Iowa State vs. Arizona State will decide the Big 12 Conference champion.

In the first year of the 12-team playoff format, there is a chance that each of the Power Four conferences will be won by newcomers. Oregon, Texas, SMU and Arizona State will all compete in their new leagues for their first season in 2024. Can they win the conference championship games?

The AP Top 25 poll will be released Sunday and the College Football Playoff rankings will be announced Tuesday night. However, the key rankings won’t be released until December 8th, when Notre Dame learns its fate.

The Trojans were already eligible to play before the game against Notre Dame, but USC had the best opportunity to end their rivals’ playoff hopes. Instead, Notre Dame will likely be seeded anywhere from 5th to 8th, meaning a playoff game will be played in South Bend, Indiana.