CFP chair Gary Barta says Notre Dame's coaching situation is 'non-factor' in rankings

Notre Dame’s College Football Playoff candidacy was put into doubt last week when coach Brian Kelly left South Bend for LSU.

CFP chair Gary Barta said on Tuesday the committee did have the ability to consider the absence of a player or coach when evaluating a team for the playoff.

However, that reportedly will not be a concern for Notre Dame this weekend. Barta told ESPN’s Heather Dinich on Saturday that the promotion of Marcus Freeman to head coach means it won’t be a factor when the committee evaluates Notre Dame.

Committee chair Gary Barta told me earlier today that the coaching situation at ND has become a nonfactor in the evaluation of the Irish. They talked about it last night, and the continuity there w/ Freeman and retaining staff makes it moot in discussion.

— Heather Dinich (@CFBHeather) December 4, 2021

That’s excellent news for Notre Dame, who enters this weekend at No. 6 in the College Football Playoff rankings. The Fighting Irish will likely need multiple upsets on Championship Saturday in order to make it into the top four.

Oklahoma State has already been upset by Baylor, but Notre Dame might still need favorable results in Alabama-Georgia, Iowa-Michigan and Cincinnati-Houston.

The final College Football Playoff rankings will be announced on Sunday.