Notre Dame receives an automatic spot in the Quarterfinals if it is ranked as one of the Top 5 BCS teams in the final regular season poll.
Otherwise, Notre Dame must qualify for one of the first round playoff games by being one of the four highest ranked teams remaining in the BCS rankings after the Conference Champions from the Top 6 BCS Conferences are removed from the rankings as a result of them automatically receiving a slot in the Quarterfinals.