A day late and 10 days short is what the fate of eight means to Notre Dame.
The Irish will make it to Glendale, Ariz., in January, which was part of a "mission" born before any of the team's 10 victories and two defeats played out in a season rife with injuries that would have devastated a lot of teams.
But the Irish will be there one day after Clemson faces Oklahoma and Alabama plays Michigan State in College Football Playoff semifinals on New Year's Eve in Miami and Dallas. They also will be there 10 days before two of those teams play for the national title in the same stadium where Notre Dame will face Ohio State in the Fiesta Bowl.
Both the Irish and Buckeyes spent their fair share of time in the top four before falling. They were rewarded with what might be the best non-playoff bowl matchup.
"We're going to get one more challenge against what could be the best team in the country," Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly said of the defending national champions. "Who is to say they're not? I know the committee decided who the four teams were, but you could take (any) one of eight teams and make the case for them."
That's where that number, eight, comes back into play.
Eight is the first number that is neither prime nor semi-prime, somewhat fitting for Kelly's team, which was ranked No. 8 by the CFP selection committee.
The Irish will be in neither prime time nor semi-prime time when they face the No. 7 Buckeyes at noon on New Year's Day in the same bowl in which they won their last national championship, defeating West Virginia in January 1989.
But eight would be enough for Kelly when it comes to the number of teams in the playoff.
Kelly put his sense of humor on display Sunday when he learned of his team's date with Ohio State. When asked for an ideal number of playoff teams, Kelly's answer was predictable, if not with merit.
"Eight," Kelly said. "Definitely eight."
Kelly kept up his cut-ups when asked whether Ohio State coach Urban Meyer, a former Notre Dame assistant whose son was baptized on the South Bend, Ind., campus, will someday coach the Irish in a more superior role.
"We're going to arm-wrestle before the game, and whoever wins gets the Notre Dame job," Kelly said. "That's just great talk for the fans, and Urban is a great coach. Who knows? I'm not going to be here forever."
Jokes aside, the consolation prize is no consolation to Notre Dame. The team, Kelly said, did no celebrating upon learning of its bowl destination.
And any hope for expansion -- I wouldn't mind seeing six go, with the top two getting a bye -- likely will have to wait until after the 2025 season. The CFP is in the second year of a 12-year, four-team agreement.
"It's a conversation we'll continue to have," Kelly said. "If you look at the first eight (teams), that would be a pretty good playoff."
Kelly, though, commended the committee for a job well done this season, saying, "We've got it down pretty good right now with four teams."
"Certainly when you're on the outside looking in, you want more teams in it," Kelly added. "Where we are is better than where we were when we were just dealing with computers. I don't know if we'll be able to hold it at four, but I think we've got it right right now.
"If college football continues on the path it is, it's going to be more and more difficult to keep it at four."
In other words, eight, well, that would be great.
