Brian Kelly may have screwed Notre Dame even further with playoff twist

There’s another twist in the crazy college football coaching carousel of the past week.

Brian Kelly stunned Notre Dame – and the rest of the country – when he bolted the university to take the coaching vacancy at LSU left by Ed Orgeron. The Irish had finished their regular season schedule and it isn’t entirely out of the ordinary for a coach to leave before a bowl game, but the team is still in the playoff picture. Notre Dame is, sitting at 11-1 and ranked sixth in the CFP poll when he departed on Monday night.

The Irish remained at No. 6 in Tuesday’s poll, though their title chances may have dimmed. CFP chairman Gary Barta hinted that Kelly’s departure could have an effect on the final poll when playoff spots are determined – one final nail in the coffin for the departing coach.

“This week it didn’t apply because the games had occurred and we evaluated based on those games,” Barta said, per Yahoo Sports. “Once the championship games wrap up … the protocol does include the ability for the committee to consider a player or a coach not being available. Should that have an outcome of a game, that can be considered. At this point, we’ll have to wait and see how that factors in.”

Oklahoma State jumped the Irish in the most recent rankings, which makes enough sense on its own – they defeated former No. 10 Oklahoma, while Notre Dame beat unranked Stanford. But while Kelly’s former team doesn’t play on Sunday, there still would theoretically be a path for them to jump into the top four.

Every team above them in the rankings plays this weekend. While No. 1 Georgia appears safe, a loss by Michigan, Alabama (playing Georgia) or Cincinnati could theoretically knock them out of the playoff. Oklahoma State also plays on Saturday, and if two or more of those teams lose, the Irish could potentially jump into consideration for the tournament.

But would they? Barta stopped short of saying anything specific about how a scenario would play out for Notre Dame if the opportunity arose. Still, it will be a fascinating weekend for the Irish – even though they don’t play a game.

It is unclear who will be the team’s interim coach for the playoffs or a bowl game.