Where Notre Dame football opponents rank in Week 8 Coaches Poll, AP Poll
The Notre Dame Fighting Irish kissed any chances of being ranked in the polls soon goodbye with their 16-14 loss to previously one-win Stanford on Saturday. Notre Dame was receiving votes after a 28-20 win over then-No. 16 BYU two weeks ago, but it’s back to square one following the defeat to the Cardinal.
Three future Notre Dame opponents, meanwhile, are in the rankings.
Clemson (7-0) hung on to beat Florida State, 34-28, to remain No. 5 in both polls. USC (6-1) dropped six spots to No. 12 in both polls following a 43-42 loss to Utah. Syracuse (6-0) vaulted to No. 14 in both polls with a 24-9 triumph over NC State.
Notre Dame will almost assuredly be an underdog in all three of those games. The Irish travel to Syracuse on Oct. 29. They host Clemson on Nov. 5 and finish the regular season in Los Angeles against the Trojans on Nov. 26. If Notre Dame lost to the ranked trio, the Irish would have to beat all of UNLV, Navy and Boston College to become bowl eligible.
After the upset loss to Stanford, that’s a reasonable conversation to have. Notre Dame will be up against it in every game from here on, just as it was a few weeks ago in the aftermath of the loss to Marshall.
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Here’s a look at both polls.
Week 8 Coaches Poll
- Georgia (7-0) (43 first-place votes)
- Ohio State (6-0) (17)
- Michigan (7-0) (1)
- Tennessee (6-0) (2)
- Clemson (7-0)
- Alabama (6-1)
- Ole Miss (7-0)
- TCU (6-0)
- Oregon (5-1)
- UCLA (6-0)
- Oklahoma State (5-1)
- USC (6-1)
- Wake Forest (5-1)
- Syracuse (6-0)
- Utah (5-2)
- Penn State (5-1)
- Kansas State (5-1)
- Kentucky (5-2)
- Cincinnati (5-1)
- Illinois (6-1)
- Texas (5-2)
- North Carolina (6-1)
- NC State (5-2)
- Mississippi State (5-2)
- Tulane (6-1)
Receiving votes: LSU 51; Central Florida 33; Kansas 30; South Carolina 24; Purdue 23; Maryland 15; Liberty 12; Washington 9; Baylor 7; Coastal Carolina 5; Pittsburgh 4; South Alabama 3; Arkansas 3; UTSA 1.
Week 8 AP Top 25
- Georgia (7-0) (31 first-place votes)
- Ohio State (6-0) (17)
- Tennessee (6-0) (15)
- Michigan (7-0)
- Clemson (7-0)
- Alabama (6-1)
- Ole Miss (7-0)
- TCU (6-0)
- UCLA (6-0)
- Oregon (5-1)
- Oklahoma State (5-1)
- USC (6-1)
- Wake Forest (5-1)
- Syracuse (6-0)
- Utah (5-2)
- Penn State (5-1)
- Kansas State (5-1)
- Illinois (6-1)
- Kentucky (5-2)
- Texas (5-2)
- Cincinnati (5-1)
- North Carolina (6-1)
- NC State (5-2)
- Mississippi State (5-2)
- Tulane (6-1)
Receiving votes: Purdue 95, LSU 87, UCF 13, South Carolina 13, Kansas 12, James Madison 6, Oregon State 6, Maryland 5, South Alabama 4, Liberty 2, Arkansas 1, Minnesota 1, Florida State 1
