Greg McElroy Projects Historic Program to Miss College Football Playoff in 2024

The Florida State Seminoles are notably one of the more disappointing teams in college football after their 1-4 start following a No. 10 preseason ranking. Other notable programs like the Michigan Wolverines and Notre Dame Fighting Irish have struggled despite high preseason rankings.

Michigan came into the 2024 season ranked ninth following its national title win over the Washington Huskies. The Wolverines suffered their first home loss since 2020 and first regular-season loss since 2021 after losing to the Texas Longhorns 31-12.

Ball State pulled off one of the season's biggest upsets against Notre Dame. The Cardinals took the Fighting Irish to the wire in South Bend before hitting a go-ahead 35-yard field goal to win 16-14.

On a recent " Always College Football " episode, Greg McElroy announced picks for the College Football Playoff, revealing his choices for seeds one through 12. McElroy kept Notre Dame from his predictions and placed the Fighting Irish among the "First Five Out" teams.

"Notre Dame is on the outside looking in," McElroy said. "Ultimately, you look at where they could lose. Yeah, they could lose to USC, but man, that loss to NIU. It just continues to percolate in my brain. It's one that I just have a tough time getting over, so I think at 10-2, it might be tough for Notre Dame if they lose to USC."

After losing to Ball State, Notre Dame did rebound. The Fighting Irish are on a three-game winning streak after victories over the Purdue Boilermakers, Miami (OH), and the Louisville Cardinals.

Notre Dame had two playoff appearances in 2020 and 2018 but did not surpass the first round.

Following a Week 6 bye, the Fighting Irish can extend their winning streak to four games with a win over the Stanford Cardinal. Kickoff is on Oct. 12 at 3:30 p.m. ET on NBC.

Related: Greg McElroy Predicts Historic College Football Program to Continue Downfall