Notre Dame Poll Watch: Week 8

The Notre Dame poll watch is not quite as exciting as it was last week. How could it be? Last week saw a large amount of games that involved top 15 teams that ended up in a dog fight. As exciting as all that was, at the end of the night, there wasn’t much movement when it involved the polls. The polls this week, made some moves and starts to set up the bigger narrative a few weeks from now.

This past Saturday did see some bigger moves thanks to a handful of games. The most exciting- and perhaps the game with the most meaning to Irish fans, was old Sparty and the Skunkbears of Michigan. Had Michigan won and not fumbled a punt that saw a touchdown return as the game ended (hahahahahahahaha), they would have had a decided perception advantage over the Irish.

Oct 15, 2015; Stanford, CA, USA; Stanford Cardinal running back Christian McCaffrey (5) carries the ball in the second quarter against the UCLA Bruins in a NCAA football game at Stanford Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

With losses by #8 Florida, #9 Texas A&M, #13 Ole Miss, and of course #12 Michigan; Notre Dame was looking at a nice jump in the polls. They were leapfrogged by Stanford in the AP as the Irish are now ranked #11 in that poll, while Notre Dame came in at #10 in the coaches poll.

Despite the normal obliged outrage Irish fans should have when Notre Dame gets jumped in the polls, this movement of Stanford sets up quite nicely for a possible top 5 showdown in Palo Alto in November.

This is exactly the kind of game Notre Dame needs to gain favor with the College Football Playoff Selection Committee. And, this is far more important than the poll position from polls that will be rendered meaningless on November 3rd.

Until then, the Notre Dame poll watch will continue to monitor the situation, and if we’re all lucky, perhaps we all won’t look like a zombie army of crackheads as the season continues.