College football: The main question Northwestern & Notre Dame face entering November

College football has been chaos.Is anyone good? Will the 24-team playoff ruin the sport? Who is getting paid what?These questions persist, but these aren’t the ones that need answering in South Bend and Evanston.Northwestern and Notre Dame both face critical stretches of their football seasons. Here are the questions both the ‘Cats and Irish need to answer.Is Northwestern football a playoff team?Northwestern is ranked in the top 25 for just the second time this decade.It’s a season where the football program is starting to recognize its potential in a new era and under head coach David Braun. With success come the rankings, the accolades and the discussions.NU is doing its best to recognize that potential while focusing on itself in a critical moment."Someone told me Coach Barnett used to say that the higher you climb, the windier it gets," Braun said on Monday. "We need to shut out the outside noise."The next stretch of games will define Northwestern’s season.The ‘Cats have Oregon, Io