Gary Barta: Brian Kelly's Departure Can Be Considered in Notre Dame's CFP Case

Notre Dame's College Football Playoff hopes this season may have gone out the door with Brian Kelly.

Iowa athletic director Gary Barta, who's also the chair of the CFP selection committee, indicated during Tuesday's rankings announcement that Kelly's departure for LSU could be a consideration when determining the Fighting Irish's final position:

It's not uncommon for a coach to move onto a new job before his team competes in a bowl game. Kelly did it when he accepted Notre Dame's offer in December 2009, putting Jeff Quinn in charge to guide Cincinnati to a 51-24 defeat to Florida in the Sugar Bowl.

But Kelly's decision is almost without precedent because Notre Dame is still in the playoff picture.

The Fighting Irish remained sixth in the updated rankings:

At the moment, they're on the outside looking in, but some combination of losses by Alabama, Michigan, Cincinnati and Oklahoma State would presumably catapult them into the top four. Given the way this year has unfolded, that sequence of events isn't out of the question.

Of course, the above logic applied before Barta's comments. Now, it looks like Notre Dame may not have a straightforward path—or any path at all—into the playoff.

Granted, the selection committee may be wary of the optics behind snubbing the Fighting Irish if the conference championship games swing their way.

But Barta presumably wouldn't have said what he did if the committee wasn't prepared to at least seriously weigh Notre Dame's coaching situation as part of its overall resume.

By taking the LSU job when he did, Kelly likely ensured he's public enemy No. 1 in South Bend, Indiana, for some time. If he ultimately torpedoed the Irish's title chances in the process, it's likely he'd never be forgiven by Notre Dame fans.