(This story was updated to add new information.)

SOUTH BEND — Notre Dame football finally got a meaningful sense of just how costly its Week 2 loss was to Northern Illinois.

In the first College Football Playoff rankings of the 2024 season, the 13-member selection committee placed the Irish (7-1) at No. 10. Notre Dame projects to open the 12-team playoff at No. 7 seed Penn State, ranked sixth in Tuesday night’s reveal.

Unbeaten Indiana was ranked eighth but seeded ninth and projects to open at Tennessee.

Michigan athletic director Warde Manuel, this year’s CFP selection committee chair, noted Indiana’s average margin of victory (33 points) along with the Hoosiers’ lowly strength-of-schedule (103rd).

"We think highly of Indiana," Manuel said on a conference call with reporters. "Dominant, dominant wins against the teams on their schedule, so we recognize that and also understand that they can only play who's in front of them and who's scheduled."

Notre Dame’s schedule thus far ranks 75th nationally, second-lowest in the initial projection of the 12-team field. Manuel credited the "very solid" Irish for their top-10 defense and a "dominant" win over previously unbeaten Navy at a neutral site, but noted the "troubling loss" to the unranked Huskies.

Northern Illinois has sagged to 4-4, including 1-3 in the Mid-American Conference, since its 16-14 upset win at Notre Dame Stadium on Sept. 7. NIU was a four-touchdown underdog against Notre Dame.

"I'd say 'troubling' because we all thought it was not the Notre Dame team that we've seen when we looked at what happened against Northern Illinois," Manuel said. "They've won six straight games since that loss, and Riley Leonard is really coming on in this offense, not only passing but actually running. A very good runner."

Notre Dame has just one remaining game against a CFP-ranked team: Nov. 23 at Yankee Stadium against No. 25 Army (8-0). Two Irish victims thus far made the first CFP rankings: No. 14 Texas A&M (7-2) and No. 22 Louisville (6-3).

Selection Sunday will be Dec. 8 with first-round games at campus sites scheduled for Dec. 20-21.

The four highest-ranked conference champions according to the CFP will receive first-round byes. The fifth highest-ranked conference champion will also be included in the inaugural 12-team bracket.

Coming off its second and final bye week of the regular season, Notre Dame dropped two spots to No. 10 in the Associated Press media poll on Sunday. In the US LBM Coaches Poll, the Irish moved up one spot to No. 8.

Jordan Botelho: Notre Dame football planning for a sixth season from Jordan Botelho in 2025

As in both the AP and the coaches’ polls, five one-loss teams were ranked ahead of Notre Dame in the CFP rankings: Georgia, Ohio State, Texas, Penn State and Tennessee.

While the independent Irish wrap their regular season on Nov. 30 at struggling USC, teams that might lose their conference title games the following week won’t necessarily lose ground.

“We try not to punish but we also are watching the games,” Manuel told ESPN. “That’s important for us as we deliberate to talk about what we see as we go into it. Not just ‘a loss’ but how did the game proceed and how was the outcome of the game and how was the performance?”

Mike Berardino covers Notre Dame football for the South Bend Tribune and NDInsider.com. Follow him on social media @MikeBerardino.

This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: Where did Notre Dame football land in College Football Playoff rankings