Heather Dinich Reveals If CFB Powerhouse Can Make Playoff After 'Bad' Week 2 Performance

Last weekend, the Notre Dame Fighting Irish suffered a surprising defeat when they lost to Northern Illinois at home. This marked one of the most shocking upsets in college football in the last decade. In fact, Notre Dame was a 28.5-point favorite, making it one of the top 15 biggest points spread upsets in the last 45 years.

The Fighting Irish were ranked No. 5 in the country and coming off a big road win against Texas A&M. However, they lost 16-14 to Northern Illinois largely due to a poor offensive showing with 286 yards of total offense.

ESPN's Heather Dinich appeared on "The Paul Finebaum Show" to discuss the Fighting Irish's playoff chances. She believes Notre Dame is in a tough spot but is not completely writing them off just yet.

"They are in a really tough position, but I'm not going to write them out right at this point in the season," Dinich said. "But, they have a bad loss. Their path to the playoff is one of those seven at large bids and it's highly unlikely that anyone else in the country contending for one of those spots is going to have as bad of a loss."

Dinich believes three things need to happen for Notre Dame to return to the College Football Playoff. Notre Dame has to win all of its remaining games this season, look like a playoff contender and hope that some of its upcoming opponents, such as USC and Louisville, will be ranked. If all three of those things do not happen, Dinich believes the Fighting Irish could be on the outside looking in.

Notre Dame will aim to begin its journey back to the playoff with a road win against Purdue on Saturday, Sept. 14, 2024, at 3:30 p.m. ET on CBS.

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