by Leprechaun Express & Steve Welsh
Undefeated Notre Dame (9-0) hung onto their #3 ranking in the AP and Coaches Polls after their 31-21 win in Evanston over Northwestern, the leader of the B1G/Big Ten West.
The only remaining undefeated teams in Div. I-A/FBS are #1 Alabama, #2 Clemson, #3 Notre Dame and #11 Central Florida.
The Fighting Irish continue to be the only top-5 team that has beaten another top-5 team, as currently ranked. That fact alone should have propelled Notre Dame into the #1 spot.
Alabama did beat LSU this weekend, who had benefited from an inflated then-top-5 ranking, with LSU even being ahead of Notre Dame in the College Football Playoff Rankings. Yet now, LSU, with two losses, is clinging to a still-vastly-inflated #9/#10 ranking, despite LSU having also lost to a Florida team that now has three losses.
Meanwhile, Michigan (8-1), whose only loss was by a touchdown at Notre Dame in the season opener, jumped to #4 after blowing out Penn State while LSU lost.
Future Notre Dame opponent Syracuse (7-2) climbed to #13 after beating Wake Forest handily. Additionally, Notre Dame opponents Pitt and Northwestern are getting votes in both polls.
Fans will have to wait until Tuesday to see how the second installment of the College Football Playoff Rankings play out, especially given what seems to be a strong bias in favor of the SEC.
(first-place votes in parentheses) (Notre Dame opponents marked in dark blue)
Rank Team Record Points
1 Alabama(60) 9-0 1500
2 Clemson 9-0 1435
3 Notre Dame 9-0 1381
4 Michigan 8-1 1304
5 Georgia 8-1 1263
6 Oklahoma 8-1 1181
7 West Virginia 7-1 1065
8 Ohio State 8-1 1025
9 LSU 7-2 1020
10 Washington State 8-1 1010
11 UCF 8-0 1001
12 Kentucky 7-2 780
13 Syracuse 7-2 624
14 Utah State 8-1 586
15 Texas 6-3 559
16 Fresno State 8-1 506
17 Boston College 7-2 490
18 Mississippi State 6-3 486
19 Florida 6-3 400
20 Washington 7-3 342
21 Penn State 6-3 278
22 NC State 6-2 264
23 Iowa State 5-3 230
24 Michigan State 6-3 215
25 Cincinnati 8-1 141
Others receiving votes: Utah 110, Auburn 93, Wisconsin 37, Army 32, UAB 31, Northwestern 28, Iowa 17, Boise State 15, Purdue 14, Buffalo 11, Oregon 9, San Diego State 5, Duke 4, Texas A&M 3, Houston 3, Texas Tech 2
Rank Team Record Points
1 Alabama(63) 9-0 1599
2 Clemson(1) 9-0 1537
3 Notre Dame 9-0 1464
4 Michigan 8-1 1390
5 Georgia 8-1 1347
6 Oklahoma 8-1 1272
7 Ohio State 8-1 1109
8 West Virginia 7-1 1108
9 Washington State 8-1 1076
10 LSU 7-2 1063
11 UCF 8-0 1054
12 Kentucky 7-2 761
13 Syracuse 7-2 625
14 Boston College 7-2 580
15 Mississippi State 6-3 567
16 Utah State 8-1 565
17 Fresno State 8-1 490
18 Washington 7-3 463
19 Texas 6-3 433
20 Penn State 6-3 375
21 Florida 6-3 340
22 NC State 6-2 327
23 Cincinnati 8-1 207
24 Utah 6-3 184
25 Iowa State 5-3 151
Others receiving votes: Michigan State 144, Auburn 106, Iowa 87, UAB 64, Wisconsin 64, Oregon 51, Houston 41, Army 34, Buffalo 22, Texas A&M 16, San Diego State 15, Purdue 13, Boise State 12, Duke 11, Pittsburgh 10, South Florida 10, South Carolina 7, Missouri 2, Appalachian State 2, North Texas 1, Northwestern 1
Notre Dame, of course, partners with the ACC, with roughly half of Notre Dame’s schedule being against ACC teams, with the annual mix, and multi-year rotation, worked out with the ACC itself. Another third of Notre Dame’s schedule this year is against the B1G/Big Ten and PAC-12, plus one SEC opponent. So Notre Dame plays a mix of ten power conference opponents, plus Navy (of the American), plus one MAC opponent.
Central Florida was the only undefeated team in Div. I-A/FBS last year, yet the NCAA College Football Playoff Committee left them out of the College Football Playoff, instead inviting not one, but two, SEC teams with losses. Central Florida responded by beating yet another SEC team in a major bowl game, beating Auburn in the Peach Bowl.
Once again, Alabama and Georgia do not play in the regular season. Georgia has not played in Tuscaloosa in more than a decade, not since 2007.
