Notre Dame lands at No. 7 in preseason AP Top 25
For the fifth time in six years, Notre Dame will begin football season as a top-10 team.
The Irish landed at No. 7 in the preseason Associated Press Top 25, which was released Monday at noon ET. It’s Notre Dame’s second-highest preseason ranking since 2006, trailing only 2022 (No. 5). Expectations are high for the Irish, who aim to host a first-round game in the 12-team College Football Playoff.
Georgia, Ohio State, Oregon, Texas, Alabama and Ole Miss are the only teams ranked above Notre Dame, who earned 1,122 voting points. The Irish came in just 77 points behind the Rebels, who earned 1,189.
Penn State (1,060 voting points, 62 behind Notre Dame), Michigan and Florida State round out the top 10. Only Georgia, Ohio State and Oregon received one or more first-place votes, with the Bulldogs as the clear consensus No. 1 team. They received 46 out of 62 possible first-place votes.
If the preseason AP Top 25 were the final CFP rankings, Notre Dame would be the No. 9 seed. No. 12 Utah and No. 10 Florida State would jump the Irish by virtue of winning the Big 12 and Atlantic Coast Conference, respectively. A trip to Oxford, Miss. and a matchup with Ole Miss, the No. 8 seed, would await the Blue and Gold.
Led by third-year head coach Marcus Freeman, Notre Dame is brimming with optimism after a one-game improvement from Year 1 (9-4) to Year 2 (10-3). Freeman has said that this is his most talented roster since he took over in South Bend.
The Irish feature an experienced and star-studded defense, which returns five starters from a unit that finished top-five in most relevant statistical categories. Third-year defensive coordinator Al Golden‘s core group includes two first-team preseason All-Americans in graduate student defensive tackle Howard Cross III and graduate student safety Xavier Watts.
It also includes junior cornerback Benjamin Morrison, a second-team preseason All-American and a consensus projected first-round pick in the 2025 NFL Draft.
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On offense, Notre Dame made Mike Denbrock the highest-paid offensive coordinator in college football when it hired him away from LSU. He’ll join forces with senior Duke transfer quarterback Riley Leonard and a promising, new-look supporting cast.
Notre Dame begins its season against Texas A&M, who ranks 20th in the preseason AP Poll. The Irish and Aggies will kick off at 7:30 p.m. ET on Aug. 31 in College Station, Texas.
Elsewhere on Notre Dame’s schedule, Florida State ranks No. 10 and will visit the Irish on Nov. 9. USC will host Notre Dame on Nov. 30, and the Trojans landed at No. 23. Louisville, who comes to South Bend on Sept. 28, would be No. 26 if the rankings extended that far.
Full preseason AP Top 25: Notre Dame lands at No. 7
- Georgia (46 first-place votes)
- Ohio State (15)
- Oregon (1)
- Texas
- Alabama
- Ole Miss
- Notre Dame
- Penn State
- Michigan
- Florida State
- Missouri
- Utah
- LSU
- Clemson
- Tennessee
- Oklahoma
- Oklahoma State
- Kansas State
- Miami (FL)
- Texas A&M
- Arizona
- Kansas
- USC
- North Carolina State
- Iowa
Others receiving votes: Louisville (111), Virginia Tech (77), Boise State (47), SMU (33), Iowa State (33), Liberty (32), Washington (23), West Virginia (17), Memphis (16), Nebraska (16), Wisconsin (15), UTSA (6), Tulane (5), Appalachian State (4), Kentucky (3), Auburn (2), Colorado (1)
