ND really needs OSU to win their conference and would prefer a USC they beat to win theirs. A 1 loss Big 10 champ and a 1 loss OSU get in before a 1 loss ND and with the SEC champ that means ND needs to beat out 3 power 5 conference champs for the final spot. A 1 loss Tex/Okla or a 1 loss Oregon/Wash or a one loss FSU/Miami that win their conference are all favorites.
ND really needs OSU to win their conference and would prefer a USC they beat to win theirs. A 1 loss Big 10 champ and a 1 loss OSU get in before a 1 loss ND and with the SEC champ that means ND needs to beat out 3 power 5 conference champs for the final spot. A 1 loss Tex/Okla or a 1 loss Oregon/Wash or a one loss FSU/Miami that win their conference are all favorites.
We need to be better than 4th and 16 against Duke to have this issue. There is no top 8 team that finds themselves at the end of the game having scored 13 points.