Ranking the 5 Biggest Winners and losers of Rivalry Weekend: Ohio State flops again

Winner - Notre Dame

The Fighting Irish entered Saturday in a win and in situation for the College Football Playoff against a USC Trojans team that has battled with .500 all season long. The Trojans kept the game close early on but, a 21-7 third quarter helped the Irish pull away. In the fourth quarter, Notre Dame's offense was hardly on the field yet the Irish scored 14 points on a 100 yard pick six and a 99 yard pick six.

The win punches Notre Dame's ticket to the College Football Playoff which is remarkable after they lost early on to Northern Illinois. Not only are the Fighting Irish heading into the College Football Playoff but, they're the front runner for the highly coveted 5th seed which everyone views as the best seed for the Playoff.

Loser - Miami Hurricanes

The first few months of the season, the Miami Hurricanes showed some cracks but, thanks to Cam Ward they were always able to survive until they took their first loss against Georgia Tech. Miami still controlled its path to the ACC Championship Game until it lost on Saturday Night to Syracuse in shocking fashion.

The Hurricanes jumped out to 21 point lead in the second quarter and it looked like we were going to see Miami face off against SMU in the Conference Championship game. The Orange then went on a 35-7 run taking a 35-28 lead into the 4th quarter. The decision Miami fans will kick themselves over the most is Mario Cristobal's decision to kick a field goal on 4th and Goal from the 10 yard line down 7 points as the defense never got Cam Ward the ball again.

In all likelihood, the Hurricanes are eliminated from College Football Playoff contention with their second loss as their resume is worse than most of the three loss SEC teams. Missing the Playoffs this season when you had one of the best quarterbacks in College Football will sting the most for Miami fans.