Notre Dame benefits from Alabama loss

In the midst of Notre Dame's best season in close to 20 years, one overwhelming question cast a shadow over the Irish's success: even if they stay perfect, will Notre Dame make the National Championship?

The answer to that question is still unclear, but it became a slightly more likely outcome Saturday, when No. 1 Alabama fell to Johnny Football and Texas A&M. Notre Dame will now jump the Crimson Tide in the BCS rankings, moving one spot closer to the top.

Prior to Saturday, Notre Dame stood at No. 4 in the rankings behind Alabama, Kansas State and Oregon. Now, presumably, they will move up to No. 3.

Despite the national title hopes, head coach Brian Kelly says that his team did not discuss the Alabama loss in the locker room, and they are not spending their time watching or discussing other teams, according to J.J. Stankevitz of Comcast Sports Net Chicago.

"Oh no. No no no. Absolutely not," coach Brian Kelly said, shaking his head. "... We didn't even talk about it. We talked about what we have to do to win next week against Wake Forest."

Notre Dame takes their perfect 10-0 record into a contest with Wake Forest at Notre Dame Stadium on Saturday.