Notre Dame Improves to 6th in AP, Coaches Polls
Notre Dame debuted at #5 in the first College Football Playoff Rankings on Tuesday despite being 8th and 9th in the AP and Coaches Polls a week ago. Following their 42-30 win over Pitt on the road this weekend, Notre Dame moved up to 6th in both polls but still comes in ranked lower in the “voter polls” than in the only poll that really matters.
While the AP and Coaches Polls won’t impact the CFP Rankings or determine what teams are headed to the playoffs, the response this week from the voters in both polls is interesting to see this week. Clemson moved up to 1st in the AP and #2 in the Coaches Poll following their win over Florida State after checking in at #3 in the AP and #5 in the Coaches Poll a week ago.
The large jump in the polls from Oklahoma State is what should stand out – and worry – Notre Dame fans the most though. Oklahoma State was 14th in the CFP Rankings while ranking 12th in the AP and 10th in the Coaches Poll. The Cowboys jumped Notre Dame in both polls this week, however, after handing a solid beating to previously unbeaten TCU. Will the CFP Committee reward them for their win over TCU with a similar leapfrog of Notre Dame? It will be interesting to see since the CFP Rankings didn’t have TCU ranked nearly as high as either of the voter polls.
In terms of Notre Dame opponents, the Irish jumped Stanford in the Coaches Poll with the Cardinal ranking 7th in both polls after their 42-10 win over Colorado. Stanford continuing to win, as we’ve written, is a good thing for Notre Dame in terms of setting up a potential season ending showdown in Palo Alto.
Navy makes its first appearance in the rankings after beating previously unbeaten Memphis this past weekend. The Midshipmen still have just one bleamish on their record this year – their 41-24 defeat at the hands of Notre Dame last month. Navy has one more tough game on the horizon in three weeks against unbeaten Houston but it currently looks like they have a pretty easy path to a minimum of 10 wins in 2015.
Southern Cal is still just outside the top 25 this week in both voter polls. The Trojans have won three straight since falling to Notre Dame in October.
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
Trust you?
How about you put up five large on your sure thing then we’ll consider it?
@ Shazam… and Ron, hey guys, i put in a lot of hours ‘scouting’ those teams, just to see if we were worthy of one of the top 4 spots and whether we had a shot at a NC. If ND wins out (which would mean we would have beaten a then #5 Stanford), the final committee ranking will be as follows, Ohio St (no losses), Clemson (no losses), Ala (1 loss), ND (1 loss). Ala destroys Clemson, we burst the Ohio St bubble setting up an Ala -ND rematch. That’s where the dream ends for us. Trust me, i’m very good at this. BTW, ND promised me the check is in the mail.
Please keep us posted on your next scouting expedition.
Well if you scouted the games on TV it must be so.
Such rotten luck for undefeated Clemson.
One man’s opinion, but after watching ND’s decisive win over Pitt, i ‘scouted’ (watched the games on TV) the other contenders for the top 4 slots. My guess at the Tuesday’s CFP order…
#1 Alabama (far and away the country’s best) #2 Ohio State (their 8 defensive linemen unparalleled)
#3 Clemson (very beatable) #4 Notre Dame (i think they give us that spot pending Stanford game).
Only because there is little difference between nos 4 thru 6, #5 Stanford, #6 Okla State.