Marcus Freeman 'Confused' by Notre Dame Dropping in Latest CFP Bracket Rankings

Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman was at a loss to understand why the Fighting Irish dropped one spot in the newest rankings from the College Football Playoff selection committee.

"Obviously disappointed, but more so because of a little bit of confusion," he told reporters Wednesday. "You're confused of what we could've done differently and why we fell when we won, 49-20."

Notre Dame went from ninth to 10th in the CFP rankings despite winning its regular-season finale over Stanford. That puts the Irish in a precarious position.

As the playoff bracket currently stands, Freeman's squad would be in. Should BYU beat Texas Tech in the Big 12 title game, however, the Cougars and Red Raiders would presumably both make the cut. That would potentially bump Notre Dame out of the field.

Granted, a lot of fans would take issue with Notre Dame being ranked as high as 10th. Miami has a head-to-head win over the Irish, and BYU has one fewer loss while navigating through a power conference.

This all points to how expanding the playoff to 12 teams has done little to lessen the sense of grievance over who's on the bubble.

Miami and BYU both have legitimate gripes about why they continue to look up at Notre Dame, and the Fighting Irish are right to ask why a close win over 5-7 Auburn is enough to boost Alabama above them.

Sooner or later, the CFP will probably expand to 16 or even 24 teams. Assuming that happens, it would just move the bar in terms of who fans and university administrators are arguing about.