It's a good thing Notre Dame is a catholic school ... because the Fighting Irish need a miracle to still qualify for the College Football Playoff.

Seven teams enter Saturday ahead of the Irish. Clemson (12-0), Alabama (11-1), Oklahoma (11-1) and Iowa (12-0) are the four programs in the driver's seat. All but Oklahoma will be in action on Saturday, but not all three are required to lose to open the door for Notre Dame.

Notre Dame Still Deserves To Be In College Football Playoff

The first domino that must fall in Notre Dame's favor comes in the Pac-12 title game.

No. 7 Stanford -- which beat the Irish last Saturday at Stanford Stadium -- battle USC at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, California. At 10-2, Stanford is in the best position to qualify for the CFP should one of the top four schools fall. A loss, however, and all will be forgotten by the selection committee.

Notre Dame Waiting In The Wings

Just 15 minutes later, No. 1 Clemson battles No. 10 North Carolina in the ACC Championship.

A loss from the Tigers will bring the selection committee to its knees.

Six places out of a playoff spot, the Tar Heels -- without a single signature victory entering Saturday -- would face a steep climb to the top four.

At No. 4 and No. 5, respectively, Iowa and Michigan State are just 60 minutes away from canceling each other out.

With the aforementioned dominos falling, only Oklahoma, Alabama and the Big Ten champion would be left standing. The committee would then face the daunting task of having to chose between Ohio State, Clemson, North Carolina and Notre Dame.

Good luck trying to make the case for either without contradicting yourself in the process.

It's the total chaos the Fighting Irish desperately need. It's the total chaos that's only two results away from transpiring.

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