Notre Dame falls in CFP rankings after USC loss
Notre Dame moved down in the College Football Playoff rankings for the first time this year. The Irish fell six spots to No. 21 in Tuesday’s refreshed top 25, a result of losing to USC 38-27 Saturday.
Marcus Freeman’s first regular season as Notre Dame head coach ended with an 8-4 record. The Irish are one of five four-loss teams in Tuesday’s CFP top 25 and the third-highest ranked among those five. They’re behind No. 19 South Carolina and No. 20 Texas, but ahead of No. 24 Mississippi State and No. 25 North Carolina State.
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Four of Notre Dame’s opponents are in the top 25, but three of them lost at home and also dropped as a result. Ohio State (11-1, 8-1 Big Ten) fell from No. 2 to No. 5 after losing to then-No. 3 Michigan 45-23 on Saturday. Clemson (10-2, 8-0 ACC) dropped from No. 8 to No. 9 after its 31-30 loss to South Carolina on Saturday. North Carolina (9-3, 6-2 ACC) lost to North Carolina State 30-27 in double overtime on Friday, triggering a fall from No. 17 to 23.
USC (11-1, 8-1 Pac-12) moved up from No. 6 to No. 4 after beating Notre Dame.
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Notre Dame lost to Ohio State 21-10 in its season opener Sept. 3 and defeated North Carolina 45-32 Sept. 24. Both of those games were on the road, as was the loss to USC. A 35-14 win over Clemson Nov. 5 is the Irish’s only 2022 home game against a ranked opponent.
Notre Dame was not in the first CFP top 25 of 2022, but landed at No. 20 after beating Clemson. The Irish moved up to No. 18 after a win over Navy Nov. 12 and No. 15 after they beat Boston College Nov. 19.
Week 14 CFP Rankings
1. Georgia (12-0)
2. Michigan (12-0)
3. TCU (12-0)
4. USC (11-1)
5. Ohio State (11-1)
6. Alabama (10-2)
7. Tennessee (10-2)
8. Penn State (10-2)
9. Clemson (10-2)
10. Kansas State (9-3)
11. Utah (9-3)
12. Washington (10-2)
13. Florida State (9-3)
14. LSU (9-3)
15. Oregon State (9-3)
16. Oregon (9-3)
17. UCLA (9-3)
18. Tulane (10-2)
19. South Carolina (8-4)
20. Texas (8-4)
21. Notre Dame (8-4)
22. UCF (9-3)
23. North Carolina (9-3)
24. Mississippi State (8-4)
25. NC State (8-4)
