Heather Dinich Names Dark Horse Contender For CFP National Championship

As the 2024 college football season finally gets underway on Aug. 24, ESPN’s Heather Dinich discussed which program she views as a dark horse for a College Football Playoff title on Tuesday morning’s airing of Get Up .

During the show, host Mike Greenberg asked Dinich which team ranked outside of the top six in the preseason AP Top 25 has the best chance at a College Football Playoff title this fall.

Dinich responded by stating the Notre Dame Fighting Irish have the biggest potential to capture a CFP title after being ranked outside the top six in the preseason polls. Particularly, Dinich pointed to the 11 projected NFL draft picks on the Notre Dame roster, along with the benefit of not risking a loss in a conference championship game.

“I’m going back to the Irish, Greenie, and Hembo gave me this sneaky stat like he always does,” Dinich replied. “11 projected 2025 NFL draft picks. The only teams that have more are Ohio State and Georgia. This team is loaded. And I’m going to point out one other thing in the 12-team College Football Playoff. Notre Dame does not have a conference title game, so it can’t get a first-round bye. It has to win four straight games to win the national title. But it also doesn’t risk losing in a conference championship game either. So there is that pro side to the Irish’s independence.”

If the Irish were to qualify for the CFP this fall, it would be the program’s third appearance after it made the tournament in 2018 and 2020. A Notre Dame national championship would be the program’s 12th all-time title and first since 1988.

The Irish are coming off a 10-3 record from last season, with offensive improvements added through the offseason transfer portal highlighted by quarterback Riley Leonard and wide receivers Beaux Collins and Kris Mitchell.

Dinich continued by stating that the addition of quarterback Riley Leonard, paired with a strong defensive unit, should allow the Irish to make a potential national title run.

“So in addition to the talent, quarterback Riley Leonard, the defense, the coaching staff,” Dinich added. “These guys have the pieces in place for a really special season.”

Time will tell whether Dinich’s prediction comes to fruition as the No. 7-ranked Fighting Irish open their 2024 campaign at College Station’s Kyle Field against the No. 20-ranked Texas A&M Aggies on Aug. 31. The scheduled kickoff is at 7:30 p.m. (ET) and will air on ABC.