Notre Dame vs. ASU: How Sun Devils' Win Reshapes Playoff Picture

On a day full of important college football matchups, No. 9 Arizona State sent a message with a 55-31 win over No. 10 Notre Dame.

The two squads came into the day as outside contenders for the College Football Playoff. While they each only had one loss entering Week 12, the lack of quality wins kept each side down in the rankings.

However, the Sun Devils now have a new marquee win on the resume with an impressive performance on Saturday.

This battle seemed like it was going to be an easy victory at home based on an incredible start, as described by CBS Sports:

That did not hold up, though, as Notre Dame battled back with four touchdowns in a row until it was 34-31 in the fourth quarter. The Irish simply could not complete the comeback as the mistakes kept piling up. Everett Golson threw his second pick-six of the game with under four minutes remaining to seal his fate.

Jon Solomon of CBS Sports provided a look at the biggest stat of the game:

ESPN's Mark Schlabach examined why Notre Dame's College Football Playoff chances are likely finished with its second loss of the year:

On the other hand, this was a huge moment for Arizona State. Head coach Todd Graham knew before the game what a win in this matchup could mean for the school.

"This is an opportunity to step forward as a program,'' Graham said, via Doug Haller of AZ Central Sports. "(It's) a giant step for us. I told our guys: 'I don't want one person going out there trying not to mess up. Man, go out there and attack it."

Besides setting the school up for future success, this could be an important win for the 2014 season as it keeps the squad as a contender for the CFP.

Much of the playoff talk this season has centered around the SEC. The conference is widely considered to be the best in the nation, and its teams have been high in the rankings all season.

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The problem is that a few of these teams still have to play each other and are likely to knock each other out of the running. Mississippi State and Auburn have to play at Alabama, while Ole Miss and LSU also have the ability to play the role of spoiler.

Except for a few circumstances, the most likely scenario is that only one team will represent the SEC in the playoffs.

Meanwhile, this season is a lot more fun based on more teams being involved, as Kevin Sheehan of ESPN 980 pointed out:

It is now clear Arizona State is one of those squads after an impressive win. Assuming Florida State does indeed win out and the SEC only gets one team in the CFP, this likely leaves a spot for one Pac-12 team, one Big 12 team and possibly a Big Ten representative (but only if it is Michigan State).

The Sun Devils would have to win out to get a bid, but the talent is clearly there to pull it off. Earning victories over Arizona and potentially Oregon in the conference title game should be enough.

Although this program does not have the respect of some of the perennial contenders, there would be no legitimate reason to pass on a one-loss Pac-12 team with a number of impressive wins.

All of a sudden, the rest of the playoff contenders have to look in their rear-view mirrors to see what Arizona State is doing.

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