Paul Finebaum Reveals CFB Powerhouse Facing Slim Playoff Chances After Week 2

In just one week, the momentum that the Notre Dame Fighting Irish seemed to have gained by beating a ranked Texas A&M Aggies team on the road has completely disappeared.

Notre Dame returned home to face a Northern Illinois team that many thought would be an easy victory for the then-ranked No. 5 Fighting Irish. Notre Dame was even a four-touchdown favorite in the game. However, Notre Dame only managed to gain 286 yards of total offense, committed two turnovers and ended up losing 16-14.

ESPN's Paul Finebaum appeared on "First Take" to discuss Notre Dame's College Football Playoff chances. He said that after its "monumental" loss, the Fighting Irish's playoff chances are slim.

"They're pretty close to it," Finebaum said. "It's so interesting because a week ago, after beating Texas A&M, most of us had them in. But that was such a terrible loss, I mean monumental. It's hard to put into words how destructive that was."

Finebaum believes that Notre Dame may need other teams to help them secure a spot in the College Football Playoff. However, he has not written off the Fighting Irish just yet, as they still have a few "respectable" games remaining on their schedule, including a matchup against the USC Trojans.

Finebaum concluded that while everyone on the "First Take" panel likes Marcus Freeman as a head coach, he's concerned about a trend of "inexcusable" losses. Finebaum mentioned that Freeman has had bad losses to Stanford, Marshall and now Northern Illinois in his short tenure.

If the Fighting Irish can get back on track and if USC can continue to look like a strong contender by the time the two teams face each other, Finebaum believes that the Fighting Irish will have a chance to return to the College Football Playoff.

Related: Josh Pate Names College Football Week 2 Upset That's the 'Worst' He Can Remember