I found it interesting how a single Facebook post asking what would Notre Dame’s signature win be this season when it comes time to decide the final four teams for the College Football Playoffs brought.

I was immediately accosted by a Notre Dame fan, who at one point in the conversation said that of the four teams that were ranked, the Fighting Irish were not a team to be questioned.

Really?

Because I have plenty of questions about every team ranked in the top four right now and a few more that are on the outside looking in.

Whether you like it or not, style points will go a long way toward deciding who those final four teams will be.

A few quality wins over perennial powerhouses could be the deciding factor if there are a lot of one-loss teams to choose from.

There is no way to tell which team is the best heading into the playoffs in January.

I am going to trust that the committee will do its best to pick the best four teams based on the information they have.

It is going to be tough, especially if there are no undefeated teams left, which is a distinct possibility.

Who has played the best schedule? Not which team had the toughest schedule at the beginning of the year, but the best schedule based on how all these teams finished their seasons.

There is definitely a difference between what looks like a tough schedule in August and the reality of how well each team played this season.

Is there really such a thing as a “good loss?” I have heard the term “best loss” tossed around since the playoff rankings were announced three weeks ago.

Judging who has the better loss is about as easy as calling balls and strikes in a major league baseball game.

It is all subjective.

Is there not a way to take subjectivity out of the equation?

In a perfect world there would be four undefeated teams and you would match them up based on strength of schedule.

But we do not live in a perfect world, so things are going to be very difficult for the committee and none of us are going to be happy with the outcome.

That is unless one of our teams makes the cut.

This weekend will go a long way toward figuring out who will compete for the national championship.

Those who are still on the bubble will get one last chance in their conference championship games Dec. 5.

Which brings me back to Notre Dame. If they struggle to beat Stanford this weekend, will it be remembered in two weeks as a quality win after championship games are played and watched by the committee?

Only time will tell.

 

Scott Novak is sports editor for Leader Publications. He can be reached at scott.novak@leaderpub.com.