SOUTH BEND, Ind. — In most instances, Notre Dame being at the center of a college football debate is a good thing for the Irish. No news is often bad news.

This season’s third College Football Playoff rankings release might be one of those exceptions.

Ranked No. 9 for a second consecutive week after a 22-point win at Pitt, Notre Dame’s path to the postseason feels clear but hardly certain. Although the Irish look like a good bet to make the 12-team field with comfortable wins against Syracuse and Stanford to close the regular season, the trap doors that could keep them out are starting to become more clear.

There’s the Miami issue, which doesn’t seems to be going away.

There’s also the prospect of No. 10 Alabama running the table through the SEC Championship Game, which would vault the Crimson Tide over the Irish and presumably move Notre Dame closer to Miami. Meanwhile, BYU winning a rematch against Texas Tech in the Big 12 Championship Game would likely guarantee that league two bids, which would create a math problem for Notre Dame coach Marcus Freeman.

If the SEC got five teams, the Big Ten three, the Group of 5 one, the Big 12 two and the ACC one, that’s 12 bids accounted for, with Notre Dame on the outside looking in. And that doesn’t even get to the Hurricanes (we’ll get to them in a minute). Yes, the odds of all this breaking against the Irish feel remote, like betting on green double-zero in roulette.

But it’s just not a sure thing for Notre Dame. Now we know a little more about why.

Here’s what to watch this weekend as the Irish process another round of CFP rankings.

Could Miami really catch Notre Dame?

For the first time since the beginning of these weekly televised rankings, it felt like Notre Dame needed to worry about Miami. Maybe the No. 13 Hurricanes aren’t an imminent threat, considering they’re still four spots behind the Irish, but they’re at least in Notre Dame’s rearview mirror. You probably remember that opening-week loss at Hard Rock Stadium when Miami kicked a game-winning field goal with a minute remaining to beat Notre Dame 27-24. You also probably remember the Hurricanes losing to unranked Louisville and unranked SMU.

In fact, it appears the quality of Miami’s losses have outweighed the quality of its wins, although that result against Notre Dame is the only ranked win on the Hurricanes’ resume. The Irish also only have one ranked win (No. 15 USC), but Notre Dame played current No. 3 Texas A&M in addition to that team from Coral Gables.

“As we set up the pools to do our selection process, Miami and Notre Dame have not been grouped in the same pools to have that direct head-to-head comparison, where you would really us,” said new CFP selection committee chair Hunter Yurachek. “Common opponents are one of the data points we use in comparing teams, so that will be something that we will — obviously when you’re comparing teams, whether it’s Notre Dame or Miami, whatever two teams you’re comparing, common opponents is one of the criteria we use.”

Among common opponents, Notre Dame and Miami have both blown out NC State. Miami has already beaten Stanford and Syracuse by large margins. The Hurricanes finish the season against the Pittsburgh team Notre Dame just beat; the Irish get the Orange and Cardinal next. Those common opponents will probably be a wash.

The concern for Notre Dame is Miami inching up enough to be grouped in the same comparative pool as the Irish, which might require the Hurricanes to rise one or two more spots. But that will require a loss by No. 10 Alabama, No. 11 BYU or No. 12 Utah. The Tide face an FCS opponent this weekend. Utah is a 17.5-point favorite at home against Kansas State. BYU is a 2.5-point road favorite at Cincinnati.

Is Notre Dame frozen out from hosting a CFP game?

It’s not a huge reach for Notre Dame to climb into the top eight spots to earn a home first-round game, but last week’s results probably didn’t help much. It feels like none of the top six teams in the rankings are in serious danger of dropping below Notre Dame, barring something catastrophic. Oregon will be favored in its final two games (USC, at Washington). Same with Oklahoma, which hosts Missouri on Saturday and welcomes LSU over Thanksgiving weekend.

The Ducks and Sooners are both favored by more than a touchdown this weekend.

Notre Dame also has to worry about getting caught from behind by Alabama, which closes with Eastern Illinois before heading to Auburn for the Iron Bowl. The Tide will be heavy favorites in both games, and a win over Auburn would send them to the SEC Championship Game, likely to play Texas A&M. An upset the Aggies would be enough to jump Notre Dame.

Right now, Notre Dame is benefitting from Alabama’s loss to Florida State more than the Tide is benefiting from wins at Georgia and Missouri, plus home wins against Tennessee and Vanderbilt. Turns out, a terrible loss can undo a lot of the good vibes that come with great wins and prompt a second look at the season’s other performances. After losing to Oklahoma, squeaking by South Carolina and messing around with LSU aren’t gutsy showings but reflections of inconsistency.

“That’s two really good 8-2 teams, but I think you look at the losses of Notre Dame versus the losses of Alabama, and that was really one of the defining metrics that we used,” Yurachek said.

Do I really have to root for USC?

I don’t know, how do you feel about cutting off your nose to spite your face?

Yes, the karmic ramifications of Notre Dame pulling for USC are similar to the Ghostbusters crossing streams with their proton packs: You know, try to imagine all life as you know it stopping instantaneously and every molecule in your body exploding at the speed of light. Yet the reward of this scientific apocalypse would be Notre Dame punching its ticket to the CFP and probably hosting a game next month. So, maybe at least consider it?

The committee was clear that No. 7 Oregon’s schedule lacks teeth (its past schedule ranks 60th according to The Athletic’s model), putting the Ducks in the same group as Notre Dame, Oklahoma and Alabama. If No. 15 USC wins in Eugene this weekend, Oregon will drop below Notre Dame but the Trojans would very likely not jump the Irish. However, USC would rise at least a bit, making Notre Dame’s best win even better. Of course, USC winning at Oregon would also go against trend for Lincoln Riley, who is 1-6 against ranked teams on the road as Trojans head coach, with the lone victory a 48-45 win at UCLA in 2022.

There are other rooting interests this weekend that might be more palatable for Notre Dame. Kansas State knocking off. Oklahoma losing at home to Missouri. BYU going down at Cincinnati. All those could help solidify Notre Dame’s standing in the CFP rankings, but nothing could give the Irish a bigger boost than USC winning at Oregon (3:30 p.m. ET, CBS).

Muttering “Fight On” a few times outside The Linebacker Lounge doesn’t need to mean the end of the world.