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Kirk Herbstreit believes Michigan could top Notre Dame for CFB Playoff spot
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Kirk Herbstreit wouldn’t be the least bit surprised to see some controversy in the College Football Playoff this year. The season can’t end without a little debate, right?
But what would Herbstreit believe could happen at the end of the year? Despite losing the head-to-head matchup in Week 1, the ESPN analyst thinks Michigan could receive one of the four bids over an undefeated Notre Dame.
Can you feel the anger boiling up in South Bend?
Herbstreit believes the committee might be willing to overlook the head-to-head matchup back in September based on the way the two teams are playing now.
“Head to head and conference championships matter when teams get to that last weekend and it’s a cluster, a cluster meaning two teams are so close to one another that (the committee is looking) for anything that can differentiate Team A from Team B,” Herbstreit said. “In Notre Dame and Michigan’s case, they would have to view Notre Dame and Michigan so close to one another that they could then use the head to head. They could very easily collectively in that room say, ‘hey guys, I know in Week 1 Notre Dame beat Michigan, but it’s just my opinion, Michigan has been a dominant team, one of the best teams in the country if they were to win out.
“I’m not saying they would do that, but it’s an option.”
That would certainly create plenty of drama at the end of the season.
Michigan has played the tougher schedule down the stretch and has appeared to be the more dominant team. But the Irish haven’t lost this season and won that season opener against the Wolverines.
It’ll definitely be interesting to see what happens over the final three weeks of the year.
Dustin grew up in the heart of Big Ten country and has been in sports media since 2010. He has been covering Big Ten football since 2014. You can follow him on Twitter: @SchutteCFB