Notre Dame shakes early season letdowns to emerge as most consistent College Football Playoff contender

College football has been filled with upsets and letdowns this season, even for the best teams in the sport. No. 2 Indiana needed a historically great catch by Omar Cooper to survive Penn State. No. 3 Texas A&M needed a historic comeback against South Carolina to stay unscathed. No. 8 Oregon barely outlasted No. 21 Iowa. 

With the exception of No. 1 Ohio State, nearly every other team has shown a moment of weakness against a lackluster opponent. 

And then ... there's No. 9 Notre Dame. 

The Fighting Irish didn't start the season well, dropping their first two matchups to Miami and Texas A&M in heartbreaking fashion. Since then, Notre Dame has been one of the most dominant teams in the country. 

In a 37-15 decimation of No. 22 Pittsburgh, the Fighting Irish brought out all the stops. Running back Jeremiyah Love exploded for 147 yards and a touchdown. Receiver Malachi Fields had seven catches for 99 yards and two touchdowns, and tight end Eli Raridon had six catches of his own. The defense decimated Pitt, holding them to 3.4 yards per play. Even special teams generated returns of 43 and 21 yards. 

The win only emphasizes what the Irish have done since Week 3. Notre Dame has won eight straight games, all by double-figures. That includes a 10-point win against No. 17 USC, a 22-point win over No. 22 Pittsburgh and a 43-point road destruction of Arkansas where the Irish held one of the SEC's best offenses to 20 points below its season average. 

Because of that dominance, the analytics absolutely love Notre Dame. FEI has it rated No. 6 in the nation, ahead of Alabama, Texas A&M and Oklahoma. SP+ has it even higher at No. 5, ahead of Georgia. 

Of course, the Fighting Irish still have those two losses hanging over their heads. But in a year where multiple playoff contenders have lackluster losses, both are highly defensible. Miami won on a last-second field goal after Notre Dame fought all the way back. Texas A&M needed a miraculous fourth-and-13 touchdown pass -- and has since run roughshod through the SEC to reach No. 3. 

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Brad Crawford

Since the beginning of the season, Notre Dame has improved dramatically, especially defending the pass. In their first three games, the Irish gave up 289.3 passing yards per game on 8.1 yards per attempt. Since then, they're down to 225 yards per game (not including option Navy) on 6.0 yards per attempt. Much maligned defensive coordinator Chris Ash has settled the unit. 

Quarterback CJ Carr has also emerged as one of the most exciting young quarterbacks in the nation, completing 67% of his passes for 2,487 yards and 21 touchdowns. Next to Love, the star running back, the Notre Dame offense is incredibly potent and physical. 

Results matter, and Notre Dame deserves to be treated like a two-loss team. It sits behind five of the seven Power Four one-loss teams in the CFP Rankings. But as high-level opponents stumble, Notre Dame is only getting stronger. 

The expanded 12-team College Football Playoff was built to let teams grow and improve over the course of a season. When the bracket is set, the Fighting Irish's consistency will make them one of the toughest outs of the postseason.