Notre Dame football plummets in Associated Press Poll after losing to NIU
So much for that. Notre Dame spent one week in the top five of the Associated Press Poll, and the Fighting Irish are going to need to do something super special — run the remaining 10-game table, perhaps — to get back there after losing to 28-point underdog NIU, 16-14, at home on Saturday.
Notre Dame fell from No. 5 to No. 18 in the Week 3 AP Top 25. The Irish went from No. 7 to No. 19 in the Coaches Poll. The NIU Huskies, meanwhile, entered the poll at No. 25. It’s their first time being ranked since 2013.
The outlook for Notre Dame’s season completely changed this weekend. After beating then-No. 20 Texas A&M 23-13 on the road in Week 1, it’s time to wonder just how many games the Irish can win the rest of the way.
There are only two ranked team, No. 11 USC and No. 19 Louisville, on Notre Dame’s remaining slate, but losing to a Mid-American Conference team invites the possibility of losing to anyone from Purdue on the road this weekend to fellow MAC squad Miami (Ohio) in South Bend the following weekend.
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An inflection point was not supposed to be had this early on, especially after taking care of business in College Station. NIU, Purdue and Miami were supposed to be the easy wins that set up a grudge match against Louisville, who beat Notre Dame in the Commonwealth of Kentucky last October. Now, it’s not a guarantee the Irish will be 4-1 when they hist the Cardinals at the end of the month.
It’s not a given Notre Dame will beat the likes of Georgia Tech and Florida State of the ACC, either. Nothing is a given for this version of Marcus Freeman‘s Irish. Not after being defeated at home by a team that was at least a two-touchdown underdog for the third time in as many seasons. This particular opponent just so happened to be a four-touchdown underdog, too.
Not good.
And all of a sudden, a sound-looking USC Trojans squad is licking its chops to welcome Notre Dame, who has only won once in its last four trips to Los Angeles, to the Coliseum two days after Thanksgiving.
Week 3 College Football Associated Press Top 25
- Georgia (2-0)
- Texas (2-0)
- Ohio State (2-0)
- Alabama (2-0)
- Ole Miss (2-0)
- Missouri (2-0)
- Tennessee (2-0)
- Penn State (2-0)
- Oregon (2-0)
- Miami (2-0)
- USC (2-0)
- Utah (2-0)
- Oklahoma State (2-0)
- Kansas State (2-0)
- Oklahoma (2-0)
- LSU (1-1)
- Michigan (1-1)
- LSU (1-1)
- Louisville (2-0)
- Arizona (2-0)
- Iowa State (1-0)
- Clemson (1-1)
- Nebraska (2-0)
- Boston College (2-0)
- Northern Illinois (2-0)
