With just two games left in the regular season, Notre Dame is just one spot away from hosting a College Football Playoff game for the 2nd year in a row but also just two teams jumping them away from being out of the playoff all together.

Notre Dame was ranked #9 in the latest College Football Playoff Rankings, which were unveiled on Tuesday night. If the playoffs started today, the Irish would be on the road at #8 Oklahoma.

The reason the Irish could be in jeopardy of being jumped is the fact that they will close the regular season with lackluster opponents in Syracuse and Stanford, preventing them from bolstering their resume beyond the eye test.

The good news is that the Irish are ahead of Alabama, which dropped six spots to #10 after losing to Oklahoma. Miami, which beat Notre Dame to open the regular season, is now up to #13.

CFP committee chair Hunter Yurachek told ESPN that the head to head matchup between Notre Dame and Miami has not come into the conversation yet because the two teams remain in separate tiers. He said should the two get grouped in the same tier, head to head would enter the evaluation of the teams. Yurachek also said right now the discrepancy in who Notre Dame and Miami have lost to has played a factor in the separation between the two.

BYU is at #11, one spot out of the playoffs. With just one loss as a Power 4 team, the Cougars may be able to push their way forward in coming weeks.

Other teams that appear to far down to make a move for an at large spot but still could based on their remaining schedule include #16 Georgia Tech and #18 Michigan. The Yellow Jackets are projected in the field as the ACC Champion but if they were to win their final two regular season games against Pitt and #4 Georgia, it would be hard to imagine they would be left out if they lost in the ACC Title Game and finished 11-2. Michigan could make their case by finishing at 10-2 with wins over Maryland and arch rival and #1 ranked Ohio State.

Helping Notre Dame’s case is USC’s continued rise. The Trojans are now up to #15.

The top 3 remain the same with Ohio State at #1, Indiana at #2 and Texas A&M at #3. Georgia would be the final team earning a bye after defeating Texas and moving up following Alabama’s loss to Oklahoma.

Texas Tech is #5, Ole Miss is #6, Oregon is #7 and Oklahoma is #8.

If the playoffs started today…. It would look like this:
#12 Tulane** at #5 Texas Tech (winner to face #4 Georgia)
#9 Notre Dame at #8 Oklahoma (winner to face #1 Ohio State)
#11 Georgia Tech* at #6 Ole Miss (winner to face #3 Texas A&M)
#10 Alabama at #7 Oregon (winner to face #2 Indiana)

*Georgia Tech is the projected ACC Champion
**Tulane is the projected highest ranked Group of 5 Champion

CFP Top 25:
1. Ohio St (10-0)
2. Indiana (11-0)
3. Texas A&M (10-0)
4. Georgia (9-1)
5. Texas Tech (10-1)
6. Ole Miss (10-1)
7. Oregon (9-1)
8. Oklahoma (8-2)
9. Notre Dame (8-2)
10. Alabama (8-2)
11. BYU (9-1)
12. Utah (8-2)
13. Miami (8-2)
14. Vanderbilt (8-2)
15. USC (8-2)
16. Georgia Tech (9-1)
17. Texas (7-3)
18. Michigan (8-2)
19. Virginia (9-2)
20. Tennessee (7-3)
21. Illinois (7-3)
22. Missouri (7-3)
23. Houston (8-2)
24. Tulane (8-2)
25. Arizona St (7-3)