Where does Notre Dame football rank in the Week 4 AP Poll?
Associated Press poll voters docked the Notre Dame football program (0-2) 16 spots for its Week 3 loss against Texas A&M (3-0).
On Sunday, the Irish claimed the No. 24 spot in the Week 4 AP top 25. The Aggies climbed up six spots to No. 10, and Notre Dame’s Week 1 opponent, Miami (3-0), slotted at No. 4. Earlier on Sunday, ND dropped to No. 21 in the USA TODAY Sports coaches poll.
Notre Dame is the only winless team in the AP Poll. It is still ranked ahead of USC, which is No. 25 and 3-0.
For the second straight year, the Irish have their back pinned against the wall after losing their second game of the season.
Last year, after beating Texas A&M on the road, Notre Dame fell 16-14 to Northern Illinois at home. However, it responded strongly by winning its next 10 regular-season games to make the College Football Playoff, and eventually, the national championship. The Irish beat Indiana at home in the first round, Georgia in the Sugar Bowl and Penn State in the Orange Bowl on their way to facing Ohio State in the title game.
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Freeman on loss
What Notre Dame coach Marcus Freeman said after the Texas A&M game
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Grading Notre Dame football in 41-40 loss to Texas A&M
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Chris Ash reaction
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Irish lose to A&M
How Notre Dame let win slip away in final minutes vs. Texas A&M
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The CFP committee ranked the Irish No. 5 in 2024 as a 1-loss team. Six 2-loss teams also made the bracket. Two of those squads, Texas and Penn State, lost in their conference championship game. Two more, SMU and Arizona State, qualified automatically as two of the five highest-ranked conference champions. Eventual national champion Ohio State (No. 6) and Tennessee (No. 7) both made the Playoff with an at-large bid. The Irish will need to follow OSU and UT’s path from the year before in 2025.
Ultimately, the CFP rankings, which will be first released on Nov. 4, will dictate Notre Dame’s postseason destiny. Still, the AP Poll remains a valuable indicator of how the rest of the country sees the Irish relative to the rest of college football.
Week 4 AP Poll
- Ohio State (3-0)
- Penn State (3-0)
- LSU (3-0)
- Miami (3-0)
- Georgia (3-0)
- Oregon (3-0)
- Florida State (2-0)
- Texas (2-1)
- Illinois (3-0)
- Texas A&M (3-0)
- Oklahoma (3-0)
- Iowa State (4-0)
- Ole Miss (3-0)
- Alabama (2-1)
- Tennessee (2-1)
- Utah (3-0)
- Texas Tech (3-0)
- Georgia Tech (3-0)
- Indiana (3-0)
- Vanderbilt (3-0)
- Michigan (2-1)
- Auburn (3-0)
- Missouri (3-0)
- Notre Dame (0-2)
- USC (3-0)
Others receiving votes: BYU 94, South Florida 83, South Carolina 82, Mississippi St. 69, TCU 67, Arizona St. 57, Tulane 33, Louisville 25, Nebraska 9, Baylor 6, Clemson 6, SMU 4, NC State 4, UNLV 2 and Navy 1.