Bowl Projections, 2025 Playoff Predictions, CFP Bracket Picture Heading into Week 12

The Notre Dame Fighting Irish have one last major hurdle to climb in their quest to reach the College Football Playoff as an at-large team.

Notre Dame visits the Pittsburgh Panthers in one of a few Top 25 matchups in Week 12.

A Notre Dame win would keep the Irish on a path to 10-2 and spot inside the top 10. A loss basically eliminates the Irish from playoff contention.

Pitt is one of a handful teams vying to reach the ACC Championship Game. Saturday's game won't matter for conference record, but if the Panthers win, they will get a boost in the CFB Playoff rankings ahead of their final few ACC games.

The Texas Longhorns and Oklahoma Sooners face potential playoff elimination games down in the SEC.

Texas is on the road against the Georgia Bulldogs, while Oklahoma visits the Alabama Crimson Tide.

Notre Dame Needs Win to Stay In Playoff Mix

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Notre Dame carries a seven-game winning streak into Pittsburgh on Saturday.

Marcus Freeman's team rebounded well from early defeats to the Miami Hurricanes and Texas A&M Aggies. A win over Pitt would almost guarantee the Irish's spot in the 12-team field.

Notre Dame closes the regular season against the Syracuse Orange and Stanford Cardinal. A 10-2 record gets the Irish in without question. A 9-3 record makes things dodgy at best for the current No. 9 team in the CFB Playoff rankings.

If Notre Dame loses, it would need both Texas and Oklahoma to fall to three losses on Saturday and for the BYU Cougars and Utah Utes to stumble more in Big 12 play.

All of the what-ifs can be avoided if Jeremiyah Love and the Irish offense continue to score at a high level. The Irish put up over 30 points in five of their seven wins.

Saturday's game means less in the playoff context for Pitt because it still has the ACC title race in front of it.

However, a win does matter in the context of the rankings. Pitt still has the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets and Miami on the schedule.

There is a slight chance that if Pitt goes 3-0 to close the regular season that it might land on the fringe of the at-large positions, depending on what happens in other conferences.

Texas, Oklahoma Playing with Playoff Lives on Line on Saturday

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Texas and Oklahoma currently reside at Nos. 10 and 11 in the CFB Playoff rankings.

The Longhorns and Sooners have stayed in the picture with two losses, but neither of them may be near the top 15 by next Tuesday.

Texas is on the road at No. 5 Georgia and Oklahoma visits No. 4 Alabama. Both the Bulldogs and Crimson Tide have been more consistent this season and they are chasing lofty goals of their own.

UGA and Bama are both in the mix for one of the four first-round byes, as well as a spot in the SEC Championship Game.

Georgia needs a win to finish with a 7-1 conference record. The Bulldogs aren't guaranteed of a trip to Atlanta on the first week of December, but if Bama or the Texas A&M Aggies slip up, then they come into play.

Alabama looks unstoppable with Heisman candidate Ty Simpson at the helm on offense. Oklahoma's defense was once one of the top units in the sport, but the Sooners allowed over 20 points in three of their last four games.

If Texas and Oklahoma both lose, it opens the door for the Big 12 or ACC to potentially get an at-large team in the field alongside their conference champion.