After three underwhelming performances to start the season and then three relatively underwhelming quarters of football on Saturday, Notre Dame’s fourth-quarter explosion against Wisconsin not only vaulted them to a blowout of the Badgers, it pushed them back into the AP Top 10. On Sunday morning, Notre Dame checked in at #9 in the new rankings after a rather chaotic weekend left sent other programs like Clemson tumbling.
Notre Dame started the season in the top 10 in the AP rankings, but their close call against Toledo saw the Irish fall to 12th, where they held after last weekend’s comfortable win over Purdue. Yesterday’s beat down of the Badgers that saw the Irish put up an absurd 31 points in the fourth quarter alone, however, was enough to send the Irish back into the top 10, setting up a battle of top 10 teams inside Notre Dame Stadium this weekend. Cincinnati checked in at #7.
Unsurprisingly, Wisconsin fell completely out of the top 25 with their 1-2 record. Clemson, owners of a 2-2 mark on the season, barely stayed in the top 25, checking in right at #25, snapping their streak of being ranked in the top 10. The Tigers are all but eliminated from playoff contention for the first time since the inception of the college football playoffs.
After four Notre Dame opponents started the season ranked, only Cincinnati remains ranked this week. North Carolina fell out of the rankings following their embarrassing loss to Georgia Tech, while USC has been out of the rankings ever since getting destroyed by Stanford in week two. For good measure, though, USC dropped another game this weekend to Oregon State. The Trojans come to town in three weeks following Notre Dame’s bye week.
If Notre Dame can beat the Bearcats this weekend, there will not be another ranked team, as of today, between them and the end of the season though that could very well change before all is said and done.
Notre Dame fans should now brace themselves for the “well, Notre Dame’s schedule is just too easy” narrative.
IN other news…..
That ugly NC State – Clemson incident I posted about yesterday did indeed get picked up last night.
‘Saurday down South’ website has the story and video clip.
Only it does NOT allege that the player….Clemson’s E.J. Williams…turns and clearly spits on the female fan.
Only that he “pushed and shoved fans”.
Go have a look for yourself…it’s pretty obvious, and completely disgusting.
Clemson dropped 16 spots for doing what ND came within a whisker of doing 2 weeks ago, against a FAR lesser opponent than NC State.
The only “Top 10’s” around ND are some kid’s pair of vintage Adidas high tops.
So, Clemson dropped for losing? Something they have done twice. Notre Dame has yet to do that this year which is usually fun for fanbases.
Look at the rankings, Frank.
Now…put down the beer. And the poms poms. And admit it.
Based on what it has shown on the field in 4 games, ND being in the Top 10 right now is a complete indictment of college football.
And this convenient flip of sentimetn from “the other teams have such weak schedules!!” to now “a win is a win!” is faux intellectual gymnastics.
BTW…..ND being a pretender every year, only to get utterly depantsed in a top bowl or playoff, is ost certainly NOT fun for fans.
Ponzi schemes are fun. But they all end, really badly. And then no one remembers the fun.
Yes, 28 point wins over teams in the top-25 are terrible.
I admit ND should not be playing Mercer, the Citadel, and the like —oh, wait a minute, that’s Alabama, isn’t it? Well, ND shouldn’t be playing all its November and December games in warm climates –oh, wait a minute, that’s the southern juggernauts again, isn’t it? Well, ND should at least give scholarships to college-ready lineman that can “… speak in full sentences and not grunt” — oh, wait, ND’s Admission committee does accept only legitimate, college-capable student-athletes! David, you have a problem. In all your exchanges on these platforms. You are outclassed either by logical persuasion, basic football facts, or innate IQ. Give it up already…
Sorry, you must have not gotten the most recent memo:
“A win is a win” has now replaced all those previous ‘scheduling’ complaints.
And that “real education” thing has pretty much been put to bed for good by the NCAA itself, with this NIL deal. It’s just tax-free pro sports operated on university property.
You really should write that poor Mertz kid a sincere thank you note. He provided you with a delusionary revisionist narrative that will be celebrated in your UHND articles for years.
Until fairly recently, ND stood for, and expected, competitve excellence. It expected to compete for championships.
With ND now, the best argument for keeping Kelly is ‘”it would be a mistake to get rid of Kelly because no one any better would take the job.”
What an utterly pathetic state of affairs. And it shows no sign of changing…not under that old clown.
You can revel in the mediocrity….but I won’t.
David: One seldom finds an individual who actually gaslights himself. You are a rarity, but, thankfully, God loves you, also. Stay well…
You be you, Ed.