CBS Sports projects which bowl game Notre Dame will play in later this year
CBS Sports announced its 2025 college football bowl projections on Thursday, and they have the Irish returning to the College Football Playoff to face, wait for it, the LSU Tigers. This would be a matchup of the ages, as it would pit the former Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly, against the program that he believed didn't have what it takes to compete for a title.
Well, his idea was proved wrong last year, as the Irish made it all the way to the CFP championship game, while his Tigers weren't even good enough to make the field. Brad Crawford, who compiled the list, has Notre Dame as the No. 5 seed and LSU as the last team to make the field. Not only would the Irish get a chance to knock off Kelly and the Tigers, but they'd have to come to South Bend to do it.
If Notre Dame were to advance to the second-round, they'd be in line to take on No. 4 Ohio State, a team that the Irish sorely want to see again and defeat. They've faced the Buckeyes each of the last three seasons, only to fall each time.
Crawford's other top three teams are Texas, Penn State and Clemson, as he sees each of the earning the coveted first-round bye. It didn't work out well for any of those teams in the first year of the 12-team CFP field, as every one of them lost their initial game.
As for the rest of the field, he's got No. 9 Miami visiting No. 8 Texas Tech, No. 6 Alabama hosting No. 11 Boise State, and No. 7 Georgia taking on No. 10 Oregon in Athens. Back to the Irish, Crawford has them going 11-1 on the year, with the loss coming to either Texas A&M or the Hurricanes. It's pretty safe to say many in Irish Nation would take that result, with a return trip to the CFP following what would be a very successful regular season.
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