Kirk Herbstreit Names One Team That Will Be In The College Football Playoff 'Without a Doubt'

Historic football programs like the Miami Hurricanes, Nebraska Cornhuskers, USC Trojans, Penn State Nittany Lions and Florida Gators have never made the College Football Playoff. The ACC has only ever had two teams reach the playoff, with the Clemson Tigers and Florida State Seminoles as the only ones.

One program with plenty of history in college football that has made the playoff is the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. Notre Dame made playoff appearances in 2018 and 2020 but lost in the first round both times.

Under Brian Kelly, Notre Dame won at least 10 games or more each season from 2017-21. Kelly has left for the LSU Tigers in 2022, and Marcus Freeman is now the head coach.

Freeman won nine games in 2022 and 10 games last season. Now, with the 12-team playoff, a team like Notre Dame has better odds of earning a spot. Kirk Herbstreit went on " The Pat McAfee Show " recently and stated that Notre Dame will "without a doubt" be in the playoff.

Herbstreit mentioned how favorable Notre Dame's remaining schedule is and expects the Fighting Irish to be the favorite in every game.

"...You look at their schedule, probably going to be favored in every game," Herbstreit said. "They play the game at the end of the year all of a sudden with USC at the LA Coliseum, interesting game to remember and put on the back of your mind. Notre Dame, I think they're mature, they got a great group together. They're a team that's going to be in the playoff without a doubt."

Things have changed since Notre Dame's playoff run. Former Duke Blue Devils quarterback Riley Leonard is now the starter. Players like former Clemson receiver Beaux Collins, former Arizona State cornerback Jordan Clark, former Washington Huskies corner Rod Heard, and former Duke edge rusher RJ Oben were the team's top transfer additions.

Notre Dame beat the Texas A&M Aggies in College Station 23-13 in Week 1. It was the sixth all-time meeting between the two programs.

The Fighting Irish will next face the Northern Illinois Huskies on Sept. 7. Kickoff is at 3:30 p.m. ET on NBC.

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