{"id":68426,"date":"2024-08-31T02:59:43","date_gmt":"2024-08-31T07:59:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/?p=68426"},"modified":"2024-08-31T02:59:43","modified_gmt":"2024-08-31T07:59:43","slug":"dan-mullen-explains-why-texas-am-is-must-win-for-notre-dames-college-football-playoff-hopes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/dan-mullen-explains-why-texas-am-is-must-win-for-notre-dames-college-football-playoff-hopes\/","title":{"rendered":"Dan Mullen explains why Texas A&M is \u2018must-win\u2019 for Notre Dame\u2019s College Football Playoff hopes"},"content":{"rendered":"

On a loaded Labor Day<\/strong> weekend slate of games, Notre Dame<\/a><\/strong> heads to Kyle Field to take on Texas A&M<\/a><\/strong>. College GameDay<\/em> will be in attendance for the Top-25 showdown, which could have plenty of College Football Playoff<\/a><\/strong> implications.<\/p>\n

In fact, the CFP is a reason why Dan Mullen<\/a><\/strong> thinks it\u2019s a must-win game for the Fighting Irish. Considering what lies ahead for Notre Dame, a win could go a long way toward a bid to the 12-team field.<\/p>\n

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Texas A&M is one of three Notre Dame opponents ranked in the preseason AP Top 25, and the Fighting Irish have the No. 59-ranked strength of schedule in the country, according to ESPN<\/a>. That\u2019s why Mullen argued a loss to the Aggies would create an uphill battle to make the CFP field.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think it is [a must-win game],\u201d Mullen said at halftime of\u00a0Oklahoma<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0vs.\u00a0Temple<\/a><\/strong>. \u201cRiley Leonard<\/a><\/strong>, it\u2019s gonna be a lot on him. He played in some big games at Duke<\/a><\/strong>, but he\u2019s gonna take his new offense, new players around him and he\u2019s gotta go into one of the toughest environments at Kyle Field against Texas A&M and his former coach.<\/p>\n

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\u201cAnd if you look at their schedule, the reason it\u2019s a must-win game \u2013 if they lose this one, people are going to question, where are the quality wins coming after Week 1 with a loss already on the record to Texas A&M?\u201d<\/p>\n

Under the new College Football Playoff format, the five highest-ranked conference champions make the field, as do the next seven highest-ranked teams. That also means Notre Dame can\u2019t secure a first-round bye due to its independent status, and could add to the importance of getting quality victories.<\/p>\n

Still, the Fighting Irish are still largely seen as a CFP team. Former Alabama<\/a><\/strong> coach Nick Saban<\/a><\/strong> predicted as much on College GameDay<\/em> last week<\/a><\/strong>, as well, because of the schedule. However, he said the focus should be on finishing in the Top 8 so Notre Dame can host a first-round game.<\/p>\n

\u201cBecause of their schedule, I think they have a good chance to be one of the 12 top teams in the country,\u201d Saban said. \u201cI think they will get in the playoff. I think what they need to work toward is being 5-8 so they have a home game.\u201d<\/p>\n

The post Dan Mullen explains why Texas A&M is \u2018must-win\u2019 for Notre Dame\u2019s College Football Playoff hopes<\/a> appeared first on On3<\/a>.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

On a loaded Labor Day weekend slate of games, Notre Dame heads to Kyle Field…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-68426","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/68426","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=68426"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/68426\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":68456,"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/68426\/revisions\/68456"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=68426"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=68426"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=68426"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}