3 things we learned from Notre Dame-Indiana

The first game of the 12-team College Football Playoff is officially in the books, with Notre Dame dominating Indiana at home to start the opening round.

The contest was rarely in doubt from the jump, with the 27-17 final actually flattering to the Hoosiers thanks to a pair of touchdowns in the dying minutes with the game out of hand.

Here are three things we learned from Friday's playoff opener:

Notre Dame's balance is a problem

If you just learned this Friday, then you need to find NBC on the dial and watch Notre Dame more often during the regular season. Outside of undefeated Oregon, the Fighting Irish have been the best team in the country since Week 2. They've essentially steamrolled all comers on the schedule, and Indiana was no exception despite the added stakes of a playoff game.

The Hoosiers entered as the nation's second-ranked run defense, with 137 yards the most they've allowed in a game this season. Notre Dame came within six yards of hitting that total ... in the first quarter. The final number was 193 yards on a gaudy 5.7 per rush.

Riley Leonard is sometimes questioned as a passer, but the senior quarterback was very efficient after his opening toss of the night was a tipped interception. He finished with 201 yards through the air and added a touchdown on the ground. If Notre Dame is going to make a deep playoff run, Leonard will need to be at the forefront. He showed Friday that he's more than up for that challenge.

The balanced attack on offense should give the Irish plenty of confidence heading into the quarterfinal against a Georgia team without quarterback Carson Beck.

Indiana's kryptonite: Top defensive units

Indiana coach Curt Cignetti wasn't totally wrong when he dropped this banger on College GameDay before the contest; he was just a little confused.

There's no question that Indiana absolutely "beat the shit" out of a group of teams this season, but not those with a number beside their name. The man deserves some props for trying - with a straight face, no less - to wedge Nebraska in as a ranked win for being the final team in the Week 9 coaches poll, but the Cornhuskers were nowhere to be found in any poll by the end of the year.

The collection of teams that Indiana did "beat the shit" out of this season was anybody without a top-25 defense. Indiana faced 10 of those in 13 games on the schedule and beat the brakes off all 10. The Hoosiers averaged an eye-popping 48.5 points and 487 yards of total offense in those games. The drop-off versus top-25 defensive units is outrageous - just 15.6 points and 225 yards per game.

There's no question Cignetti maximized his team's potential and delivered an all-time season with Indiana. He opened his tenure by grabbing a microphone and telling a packed basketball stadium that "Purdue sucks ... but so does Michigan and Ohio State" and topped that later with the epic quote, "I win. Google me."

However, their performances against top teams should temper expectations for the Hoosiers if the schedule doesn't fall favorably in future years.

Bloated conferences cause problems

The funniest thing about Big Ten realignment is that it would be closer for Rutgers to fly to Iceland than to a game in Washington. However, the most serious problem might just be the scheduling issues that arise once these leagues hit 16 teams. Indiana is an excellent example of what can happen with the perfect storm that comes from removing divisions and randomizing schedules. The Hoosiers played only two teams in the top half of the Big Ten: a narrow 20-15 win over Michigan and a 38-15 loss at Ohio State. It's the only two games the Hoosiers didn't win by at least 14 points this regular season.

While Indiana's loss Friday brought this issue to the forefront for the Big Ten, it's not the only conference experiencing this unintended consequence of expansion. Texas played two regular-season games against top-nine teams in the SEC this year - a home loss to Georgia and a road win at unranked Texas A&M. The Longhorns followed that up with another loss to the Bulldogs in the SEC title game. They now host a playoff game Saturday with zero wins over currently ranked teams and just one victory over a program in the top half of the league.

Balancing a schedule can be damn near impossible in college football given the volatility of teams on a year-to-year basis. In a unique twist, both Indiana and Texas had defending national champion Michigan on the schedule this year and registered wins over the Wolverines. That would be a ranked victory most years, but Michigan struggled to a 7-5 record and remains unranked.

It would have been cruel to leave Indiana out of the playoff after the Hoosiers ran over almost everybody on the schedule. However, Friday's result should put an added emphasis on strength of schedule for the committee in subsequent years.