Notre Dame Sneaks Back into AP Top 25
With yesterday’s 23-13 win over BYU on senior day, Notre Dame re-entered the AP Top 25 on Sunday at #25 setting the stage for a Top 25 showdown next weekend when the Irish travel to Pal Alto. The Irish had dropped out of the Top 25 following the loss to Pitt two weeks ago.
Notre Dame has a checkered resume this year or otherwise they may be ranked higher than 25th right now. Notre Dame has beaten three teams currently in the top 25 – Michigan State, Arizona State, and USC – and could end up with two wins over BCS conference champions if Michigan State and Arizona State go on to win their respective conferences.
On the other hand though, Notre Dame has a couple bad losses blemishing it’s resume as well. That early season loss to Michigan is looking worse and worse with each Michigan loss. The Wolverines have now lost four of their last six games after falling to Iowa this past weekend. Of the four losses Michigan has suffered, only one has come at the hands of a ranked opponent.
Then there’s that ugly loss two weeks ago to Pitt. Since beating Notre Dame two weeks ago, PItt has lost to North Carolina and them limped past Syracuse.
Notre Dame’s other loss did come at the hands of a ranked opponent though with Oklahoma coming in at #20 in the most recent poll.
Next weekend’s opponent, Stanford, come in at #8 in the AP Poll.
Frank Vitovitch has been Co-Owner and Editor in Chief of UHND.com since joining forces with Kyle Flavin in 1999. Since that time, he has written over 2,000 articles covering Notre Dame football, recruiting, and basketball. He also works with all staff and external writers on all articles published on UHND.com. Frank's love for Notre Dame football started at a young age watching Rocket Ismail give opposing coaches ulcers in the late 1980's. By day Frank works in marketing and holds a degree in Digital Media from Drexel University. Frank's work has been cited by online/print editions of NBC Sports, ESPN, and Sports Illustrated and has been quoted on air by ESPN's Collin Cowherd. He's conducted interviews with Notre Dame legends Rocket Ismail, Randy Kinder, Lee Becton, Reggie Brooks, Michael Stonebreaker, and Ned Bolcar among others over his 20+ years of covering Notre Dame football. He's also been published in the print edition of USA Today Sports Weekly and the USA Today College Football Preview multiple times. Other Published Works/Citations for Frank Three Reasons Notre Dame Will Beat Alabama - USA Today Notre Dame Suspends WR Kevin Stepherson, RB C.J. Holmes Indefinitely - Bleacher Report Notre Dame / Ohio State Fiesta Bowl Preview - Eleven Warriors Brace Yourself: The Fighting Irish are Relevant Again - Sports on Earth Interviews with the Enemy: A Q&A with Frank Vitovitch of UHND - Yahoo! Sports Five Good Minutes: Notre Dame Football Preview With UHND.com - BC Interruption Vicious Electronic Questioning with UHND - MGO Blog
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If those losses had occurred all in the early part of the season maybe it would have looked differently. The Pitt loss was just inexcusable and on national TV. I’m not fully convinced they even belong at 25. Beat Stanford at Palo Alto and that would make up for it. They have a tough task ahead of them.