Notre Dame’s 49-7 win over Stanford this weekend didn’t do much to impress the voters in the AP Top 25. The Irish fell one spot to #12 on the heels of a dominating win over long-time rival Stanford over the weekend.
LSU and Iowa State both jumped Notre Dame this week, while Ole Miss fell behind them after losing to LSU on Saturday. It was inevitable that the Tigers would leap the Irish with a win over a top-10 team, so that much was expected. On the other hand, Iowa State beat West Virginia 28-16 and somehow improved two spots in the rankings. I have no idea what a close win on the road to the Mountaineers did to impress the pollsters more this week than last.
Notre Dame won’t have many opportunities left to notch impressive wins since their future opponents who were supposed to offer those opportunities have fallen flat this year. Florida State is just 1-5, while USC continues to tumble after losing to #4 Penn State this weekend. The Trojans are unranked at 3-3 on the season and very likely could be unranked when Notre Dame travels to Los Angeles. USC has lost three of its last four games.
Four teams ahead of the Fighting Irish face each other this coming weekend, so there could be movement for Notre Dame next week should the Irish dispatch Georgia Tech. #1 Texas and #5 Georgia face off. There’s no chance Texas would fall behind Notre Dame with a single loss, but perhaps a 2-loss Georgia team could. #7 Alabama and #11 Tennessee also square off, and the Irish should easily leap the loser if they win this weekend.
Texas A&M continues to climb
This season, Notre Dame’s most impressive win continues to be their opening weekend win on the road in Kyle Field. Texas A&M was idle this weekend, but they moved up one spot to #14 as they prepare to travel to Mississippi State this weekend. The Aggies will be interesting to watch over the next few weeks because they have enough tough opponents ahead of them that if they keep winning, a real scenario exists where they leap Notre Dame, even with identical records and the head-to-head loss.
Army AND Navy have entered the chat
For the first time since 1960, both the Army and Navy are ranked in the AP Top 25 for the first time. Both academies remain undefeated on the season. Army dispatched UAB 44-10 while Navy was idle this weekend. If both teams keep winning, it will set up much bigger games against both than anyone anticipated in the pre-season. At the same time, even when the Navy has been good in recent years, Notre Dame rarely gets credit for it being a quality win when they beat the Midshipmen – also, it is not a given Notre Dame wins either contest right now.
The last time Navy was ranked when facing Notre Dame was 2019 when the Irish won 52-20. Prior to that, the last time both teams were ranked entering the contest was 1978. The last time Army was ranked when facing Notre Dame was 1985 when an unranked Notre Dame team under Gerry Faust beat the Black Knights 24-10.
Louisville could help out Notre Dame this weekend
After losing to Notre Dame, Louisville lost again to SMU the following weekend but rebounded this past weekend with a 24-20 win over Virginia. The Cardinals host #5 Miami this coming weekend, and if they knock off the Hurricanes, the Irish could jump ahead of them. Miami has been playing on borrowed time despite an undefeated record. Even with two losses, Louisville opened as a 1-point favorite at home over the Hurricanes.
