Where Notre Dame ranks in Pro Football Focus preseason top 25
As the 2023 college football season approaches, the big question for Notre Dame is whether or not it will be ranked inside the top 10 in preseason polls. The Fighting Irish have been an Associated Press Poll preseason top-10 team the last four years, but the fewest number of wins the program has had in a single season since 2016 in 2022’s 9-4 campaign put another preseason top-10 ranking in jeopardy.
Pro Football Focus released its preseason poll last week, and Notre Dame came in at No. 11.
Here’s a look at the entire poll.
Pro Football Focus preseason top 25
- Georgia
- Alabama
- Ohio State
- Michigan
- Texas
- Clemson
- Penn State
- LSU
- Tennessee
- USC
- Notre Dame
- Oregon
- Oklahoma
- Florida State
- Utah
- TCU
- Kansas State
- Arkansas
- Kentucky
- Florida
- Washington
- South Carolina
- Mississippi State
- Minnesota
- Pittsburgh
PFF on Notre Dame: “The first year of the Marcus Freeman era got off to a rocky 0-2 start, but Notre Dame rebounded to end the season with a 9-4 record. Still, 2022 was the Fighting Irish’s first year without 10 or more wins in six seasons.
“There’s reason for optimism in Year 2, especially with quarterback Sam Hartman transferring in from Wake Forest. Over the last two seasons, no player has been more valuable than the sixth-year senior according to PFF’s wins above average metric.”
BlueandGold.com says: It’s hard to argue with Notre Dame’s standing in the poll. Georgia, Alabama, Ohio State and Michigan are going to appear in just about everybody’s top five. Texas is a wildcard top-five pick considering the tough times the Longhorns have fallen on in the last decade and a half, but PFF uses analytics and advanced metrics to concoct its poll. Texas has a ton of talent, including two five-star quarterbacks on the roster in Quinn Ewers and Arch Manning.
Including Ohio State, Notre Dame plays three of the 10 teams ranked ahead of the Irish in PFF’s poll. The other two are Clemson and USC, a pair of programs that will also be guided by five-star quarterbacks in the Tigers’ Cade Klubnik and the Trojans’ Heisman Trophy winner, Caleb Williams.
Notre Dame began the 2022 season as the No. 5 team in the preseason AP poll. Then the Irish started 0-2 and fell out of the rankings. They climbed back in midway through the year and ultimately finished at No. 18 after a victory over South Carolina in the Gator Bowl. That was the school’s lowest postseason AP poll slot since finishing unranked in 2016. The Irish finished unranked four times during the Brian Kelly era, but they also finished in the top 15 six times.
A top 15 finish would not be so bad for Freeman in the second year of his tenure. Three games against preseason top-10 teams plus a trip overseas to play Navy in Ireland and tough road games at NC State and Duke make for a challenging schedule.
