Paul Finebaum Reveals College Football Powerhouse That Won't Make Playoff

The Notre Dame Fighting Irish had an impressive start to the college football season, defeating No. 20 Texas A&M Aggies 23-13 on the road. After that win, they moved up to No. 5 in the country.

However, the Fighting Irish also suffered one of the worst losses of the season when they fell to Northern Illinois 16-14 the following week despite being a four-touchdown favorite. Notre Dame was able to bounce back last week with a blowout win over the Purdue Boilermakers 66-7.

The loss to Northern Illinois has jeopardized Notre Dame's College Football Playoff dream. Since Notre Dame is not in a conference, they do not have a path to an automatic bid. On ESPN's Paul Finebaum's show , he agreed with a caller that it's going to be difficult for Notre Dame to get back into the playoff picture. Finebaum said he finds it hard to believe Notre Dame will run the table.

"I agree with you," Finebaum said. "It's hard for me to believe that Notre Dame will run the table either."

Finebaum has previously stated that if Notre Dame lost another game, he believes the Fighting Irish would be out of the playoff. Notre Dame still has two currently ranked teams to play, and one of those games is at the end of the season against the No. 11 USC Trojans.

After the Northern Illinois loss, E SPN's Heather Dinich appeared on Finebaum's show . She expressed more confidence in the Fighting Irish, acknowledging that they are in a tough position but stating that she is not ready to count them out just yet. Dinich believes that Notre Dame can still make it to the playoffs, but she also thinks it's highly unlikely that any other team contending for a playoff spot will have as bad of a loss.

Notre Dame simply needs to continue winning and allow the College Football Playoff committee to make the final decision.

Related: Paul Finebaum Reveals Why One College Football Powerhouse Should 'Panic'