Notre Dame Told to Look in the Mirror After BYU Loss

Notre Dame suffered a painful 28-24 defeat to BYU last weekend, ending its 16-game winning streak and handing the Fighting Irish their first loss of the season.

The Irish came in with a chance to take over the No. 1 spot after Georgia fell 27-24 to Auburn, but couldn't get the job done themselves and instead left Provo with more questions surrounding the program and whether they're truly national championship contenders.

On Wednesday, former Notre Dame quarterback Brady Quinn joined Colin Cowherd on "The Herd" to discuss the Fighting Irish's chances of making the College Football Playoff after their loss to BYU.

"I definitely think they still have a chance to win a national championship. They're that talented, and that's their ceiling. The problem is that there's no room for error," Quinn said. "It all comes down to that Miami game, assuming they win the rest of their games. They really need to be 11-1. They really need that win to prove to everybody out there they deserve to be part of the playoff.

"Notre Dame should look nowhere else but the mirror. And try to pick up the pieces and make the fixes they need to make because they are capable of winning it all. But they can't afford to lose," Quinn added.

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Notre Dame's situation brings up bad memories from last season, when the Irish missed the CFP despite finishing with a 10-2 overall record due to their early loss against Miami. That head-to-head win for the Hurricanes gave them the edge in the selection debate, but now the fear of another two-loss season hangs over Notre Dame.

That's what makes the rematch between the two college football powerhouses on Nov. 7 so crucial. A win over Miami this time around would give Notre Dame a valuable victory, knocking off the No. 1 team in the country and giving them an undeniably strong playoff resume even with the loss to BYU. Another loss, however, and history could repeat itself in the worst way possible, with the Irish potentially once again being narrowly edged out of the 12-team playoff field.

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Notre Dame's offense under CJ Carr has been explosive, including 50-point blowouts over Rice and Stanford. But the BYU game exposed problems with turnovers, red-zone execution, and their ability to finish close games, all valuable markers for a championship contender.

The team has enough talent to compete for a national title, but it can't afford to keep dropping tight games. Notre Dame still controls its own path, but that Miami game will likely determine its fate once again this season. They next face Navy on Oct. 31 before matchups later on against Boston College, No. 23 SMU, and at Syracuse to close out the regular season.