Where Notre Dame football ranks in Week 7 Associated Press Poll after bye week
The best place for Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman to be this weekend was on his couch as calamitous carnage occurred across the college football slate. You can’t lose when you’re on a bye week.
Five of the top 11 teams in the Week 6 Associated Press Poll lost on Saturday. Obviously, that resulted in quite the shakeup in the Week 7 poll.
Notre Dame (4-1) moved up three spots in the AP Top 25 to No. 11. The Fighting Irish also moved up one spot in the Coaches Poll to No. 12.
Notre Dame’s Week 2 home loss to Northern Illinois, a team that has since lost to Buffalo and NC State, was devastating in the moment. But as the Irish distance themselves from it and keep winning while other teams add losses to their own ledger, they’re bettering their chances of qualifying for the first-ever 12-team College Football Playoff.
The most notable Week 6 result for the idle Irish was Texas A&M’s 41-10 dismantling of then-No. 9 Missouri. While Louisville, who Notre Dame beat 31-24 in Week 5, lost to SMU and fell out of the polls, the Aggies (5-1) surged to No. 14 in the Coaches Poll and No. 15 in the AP Top 25. Notre Dame’s 23-13 Week 1 win in College Station, Texas, is standing up as a very quality victory on the Irish’s CFP résumé.
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That’s important considering Southern Cal dropped out of the polls following a 24-17 loss to Minnesota. The Trojans are the first team receiving votes in the AP Top 25. Navy and Army are the third and fourth teams receiving votes, respectively. Those are all turning out to be good teams and tough tests for Notre Dame, but there is no guaranteeing any of them will be ranked when the Irish kick off against them in the second half of the season.
A&M was ranked at the time of kickoff and is soundly ranked now, too, and that’s a good thing for Freeman’s team. Here’s a look at both polls in their entirety.
Week 7 College Football AP Top 25
- Texas (5-0)
- Ohio State (5-0)
- Oregon (5-0)
- Penn State (5-0)
- Georgia (4-1)
- Miami (6-0)
- Alabama (4-1)
- Tennessee (4-1)
- Ole Miss (5-1)
- Clemson (4-1)
- Notre Dame (4-1)
- Iowa State (5-0)*
- LSU (4-1)
- BYU (5-0)
- Texas A&M (5-1)
- Utah (4-1)
- Boise State (4-1)
- Kansas State (4-1)
- Indiana (6-0)
- Oklahoma (4-1)
- Missouri (5-1)
- Pitt (5-0)
- Illinois (4-1)
- Michigan (4-2)
- SMU (5-1)
NOTE: Notre Dame and Iowa State are tied at No. 11. Kansas State, Indiana and Oklahoma are all tied at No. 18.
Week 7 College Football Coaches Poll
- Texas (5-0)
- Ohio State (5-0)
- Oregon (5-0)
- Georgia (4-1)
- Penn State (5-0)
- Miami (6-0)
- Alabama (4-1)
- Ole Miss (5-1)
- Tennessee (4-1)
- LSU (4-1)
- Clemson (4-1)
- Notre Dame (4-1)
- Iowa State (5-0)
- Texas A&M (5-1)
- BYU (5-0)
- Oklahoma (4-1)
- Utah (4-1)
- Missouri (5-1)
- Kansas State (4-1)
- Indiana (6-0)
- Michigan (4-2)
- Boise State (4-1)
- Illinois (4-1)
- Pittsburgh (5-0)
- SMU (5-1)
