SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- Jack Swarbrick paused four seconds before answering the most significant question regarding Notre Dame football in years.

It seemed like four minutes.

If the Irish -- No. 3 in the latest College Football Playoff Rankings -- win out, does Notre Dame athletic director expect his team to finish in the top four and go to the playoff?

"As a member of the [CFP] management committee, I'll pass on that question," Swarbrick said.

Spoken like a true statesman. But his non-answer did speak to what a political football the Irish's presence in the playoff race is becoming.

Love 'em or hate 'em, the Irish are a lightning-rod program. It is proud and committed to its independent status. Its powerful brand is among the most recognizable in sports. It has its own network (NBC) and own one of the most storied histories in U.S. sports.

For better or worse, Notre Dame is a football island unto itself.

"People say, 'Why should they be included [in the CFP]?' said former selection committee member Mike Tranghese. "It's because they bring value."

And in years like this, the Irish bring legitimacy. At the moment, there couldn't be a playoff without Notre Dame. After an 8-1 start achieved against what eventually may be deemed the nation's toughest schedule, anticipation is high. So is trepidation.

One of the CFP Selection Committee's duties is to place an "emphasis on conference championships."

"I don't know how that pertains to them," said Barry Alvarez, Wisconsin's athletic director, a former selection committee member and an ex-Irish defensive coordinator under Lou Holtz.

Taking on No. 7 Miami this Saturday in South Florida is the latest hurdle for Notre Dame. Lose there and the Irish are most likely out of the playoff hunt. Having gotten this far, though, it's OK to dream -- and worry.

It's no secret that Notre Dame could "steal" a Power Five conference member's spot. Simple math tells us at least one Power Five member is going to left out each year with five conferences and four spots.

But Notre Dame's presence as an independent means two of those leagues would not be represented. Two of those leagues whose champions would have played and won an extra game in their league title contests, something Notre Dame does not have to face.

If somehow both No. 1 Georgia and No. 2 Alabama remain in the top four, three Power Five leagues could be on the outside looking in.

"I don't think among the management committee of the CFP it will [matter]," Swarbrick said. "It will certainly cause public consternation. I don't think there's any question."

That management committee oversees day-to-day operation of the CFP. It is made up of Swarbrick and the 10 FBS commissioners.

How does college football react, then, to Notre Dame in the playoff? It would be different and enlightening, uplifting and upsetting. No doubt there would be calls for the bracket to expand because those opinions always exist.

"I don't sense any movement away from the current model for a long time," Swarbrick said.

Playoff or bust. Whether intended or not, that has become the measuring stick in the sport. It defines conferences, teams, coaching careers and how schools schedule. It further defines Notre Dame because, as an independent, its access to the system truly is restricted. It has no guaranteed bowl outside of the playoff although it has access to the ACC's bowl lineup. Notre Dame's following and brand obviously makes it a New Year's Six favorite.

In 2015, the Irish started 10-1, rising as high as No. 4 in the CFP Rankings before losing their final regular season game to Stanford. They then lost the Fiesta Bowl to Ohio State.

But as an independent, Notre Dame also doesn't play a conference championship game and thus doesn't have to risk its record in a 13th game. That fact cuts both ways. Swarbrick may have been so guarded in his answer because there is this growing reality: If the Irish are still in the running next month, they'll be on the couch watching their playoff competition risking/enhancing their seasons in that extra game the final weekend of the season, Dec. 1-2.

Notre Dame's 12-game regular season concludes the week before, Nov. 25 at Stanford.

Choose which of these assertions matter most …

"It's not hard to imagine this year those championship games working against somebody," Swarbrick said.

"A 13th game gives you another quality opponent," Alvarez said. "If you're being considered, that's obviously a quality win. A lot of the discussion in that room is about quality wins and strength of schedule."

Alvarez's team, one of five unbeatens, has its own issues. If the Badgers finish the regular season 12-0, they face the prospect of playing no ranked teams before the Big Ten Championship Game. If it wins out at 11-1, Notre Dame would have played six teams that were or are currently ranked.

Should both Wisconsin and Notre Dame be in? Neither? One or the other? The CFP mantra: It will work itself out.

Maybe. Another element to Saturday's game: Among playoff competitors, only Notre Dame and Miami don't have a chance to play a 13th game. Miami cancelled a nonconference game at Arkansas State due to Hurricane Matthew. The Hurricanes could play in the ACC title game on Dec. 2, but it would only be their 12th game.

"The 13th data point is a really sort of interesting dynamic, right?" Swarbrick said.

He suggested that instead of looking at that final weekend, line up each team's best wins in descending order.

Notre Dame has played or will play (based on current CFP Rankings) No. 1 Georgia, No. 7 Miami, No. 11 USC, No. 12 Michigan State, No. 23 NC State, and previously-ranked Stanford.

"It's great for us," Swarbrick said. "Georgia is going to play for the SEC title. Maybe Miami is playing for the ACC title. Who knows, maybe Michigan State is playing for the Big Ten title?"

As mentioned, it would be harder nationally to find a tougher schedule strength.

"People love to take a chronological view," Swarbrick added. "The 13th data point is the conference championship game. The 13th data point may be your game against Bethune-Cookman or Furman or Samford.

"In most cases, that game doesn't do anything."

It did something for the selection committee in 2014 when No. 3 TCU won its final game by 52 points but dropped three places. It was replaced by Ohio State, which moved from No. 5 to No. 4 after beating Wisconsin 59-0 in the Big Ten title game.

Multiple sources familiar with the process told CBS Sports there was debate inside the room about ranking TCU so high at No. 3 the week before the season ended. That exacerbated the debate and touched on the legitimacy of the playoff. TCU and Baylor tied atop the Big 12 which, that year, did not have a championship game at the time. It is reinstituting the game this season.

"That first year that was something that hurt the Big 12," Alvarez said. "Baylor and TCU, neither one of them, you couldn't give them credit for a conference championship."

This year, Notre Dame has plenty of, um, "representation" on the selection committee. Ohio State AD Gene Smith was a captain on the 1973 Irish national championship team. Tyrone Willingham is a former Notre Dame coach.

CFP recusal policy allows both to be in the room when Notre Dame is being discussed and to provide input.

"I have enormous confidence in the selection committee picking the four best teams," Swarbrick said. "… It's been interesting after the fact to talk to selection committee members about how much art is involved."

Forget brush strokes, Alvarez sees a hammer when he watches his old team.

"They're physical again," he said of the Irish.

Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly has done an admirable job of not letting any of the above discussion leak into his meeting rooms.

"The enemy is distractions," Kelly said this week. "The enemy is not the College Football Playoff."

Star offensive tackle Mike McGlinchey said the Irish didn't notice when the first rankings debuted last week.

"We were all eating dinner," McGlinchey said of the offensive line. "We watched it and went right back in to watch film. It's cool to be recognized, and it's cool to be in the conversation … but we have three weeks left in the season. We want to stay in the top four not just be about it in the middle of the season."

You better believe the Power Five commissioners are watching closely. The 12-game barrier has already been broken through. The last and only time two teams from the same league played for the BCS title, the Alabama-LSU game basically started the momentum for expansion to the CFP.

That year, 11-1 Alabama finished second in the SEC West behind LSU. The two met in the infamous BCS Championship Game rematch. The game is credited with creating the momentum to expand to four teams.

Ohio State at 11-1 made the field last year after finishing second in its division. Big Ten champion Penn State was left out at 10-2.

When this whole enterprise began being assembled five years ago, CFP research from previous seasons eventually showed the number of contenders on pick 'em day seldom went past four. That would be fine with Notre Dame, as long as it is one of the four.

"The charge of the committee is pick the four best teams," Tranghese said. "If this year's Notre Dame is considered one of the four best teams, that's the way it is."