Notre Dame Ranks 11th In AP Poll, What Does History Say?
By Andrew Hall
Notre Dame Ranked 11th in Preseason AP Poll
Defending champion Ohio State landed all first place votes in the preseason Associated Press Top 25 poll. Notre Dame landed at 11th place behind Everett Golson’s new team, Florida State.
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The Associated Press voters obviously respect the Irish talent despite a disappointing 8-5 campaign. However, expectations for the Fighting Irish are higher than the 11th best team in the country. Fans expect Notre Dame to land in the College Football Playoff.
Under Brian Kelly, the preseason AP poll usually is not an indication of how Notre Dame will perform.
In Brian Kelly’s inaugural campaign, the Irish began the season unranked. Brian Kelly’s first team finished the season with only 8 wins.
Notre Dame began the season ranked at #16 in 2011. The Irish again finished with an 8-5 record and were unranked.
The Fighting Irish began the season unranked in 2012. Notre Dame went on to play in the BCS National Championship Game. The Irish finished with a 12-1 record and were ranked #4 in the final AP Poll.
In 2013, the Irish began the season ranked as the 11th. However, Notre Dame failed to live up to expectations. The Irish won 9 games with a victory in the Pinstripe Bowl. The Irish finished at #20 in the final AP Poll.
Notre Dame began the season ranked at #17 last year. The Irish stormed out to a 6-0 start before losing 5 out of their last 7 games.
If this year’s AP Poll is any indication, Notre Dame will finish with a mediocre record and final ranking. In fact, in the last 25 years, the Irish have only finished at the same ranking once. In 1998, Notre Dame began the season at #22. With a 9-3 record, the Irish finished at #22 in the final poll.
In 1995, Notre Dame began the season ranked #8 before suffering a loss to Northwestern in the opener. The Irish finished the season with a loss to Florida State in the Orange Bowl and landed at #11 in the AP Poll.
The 127th Notre Dame football team hopes to end this negative trend.