Notre Dame projected to return to the College Football Playoff by Athlon Sports
It's easy to be bullish on Notre Dame as the 2025 college football season approaches, and one national publication projects the Fighting Irish to return to the College Football Playoff.
Athlon Sports released its bowl game predictions for every postseason tilt, including the 12-team Playoff, which could be the final time we see the field with this iteration if expansion goes through as expected.
This is how the publication has the first round of the CFP stacking up:
No. 5 Ohio State vs. No. 12 Boise StateNo. 6 Georgia vs. No. 11 MiamiNo. 7 Notre Dame vs. No. 10 OregonNo. 8 LSU vs. No. 9 Alabama
The first-round features several of last year's teams, with LSU, Miami and Alabama entering the field this year. Athlon Sports has Notre Dame beating the Ducks and advancing to the quarterfinals to play Penn State.
If the ND-Oregon matchup does take place, it would be just the third meeting on the gridiron ever and first since 1982. The Ducks have never defeated ND. The Irish won the first meeting in 1976 before the second meeting several years later, which ended in a 13-13 tie in Eugene.
Here are the magazine's quarterfinal projections:
No. 4 Kansas State vs. No. 5 Ohio State (Cotton Bowl)No. 3 Clemson vs. No. 6 Georgia (Orange Bowl)No. 2 Penn State vs. No. 7 Notre Dame (Rose Bowl)No. 1 Texas vs. No. 8 LSU (Sugar Bowl)
The magazine projects Penn State to exacts its revenge against the Fighting Irish in Pasadena.
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