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Notre Dame Football: Irish Are No. 11 In First Coaches Poll Of 2018

By J.P. Scott

SOUTH BEND, IN - AUGUST 30: The Notre Dame mascot The Leprechan, leads cheerleaders onto the field before a game between of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish and the Rice Owls at Notre Dame Stadium on August 30, 2014 in South Bend, Indiana. Notre Dame defeated Rice 48-17. (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images)
SOUTH BEND, IN - AUGUST 30: The Notre Dame mascot The Leprechan, leads cheerleaders onto the field before a game between of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish and the Rice Owls at Notre Dame Stadium on August 30, 2014 in South Bend, Indiana. Notre Dame defeated Rice 48-17. (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images) /
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Notre Dame football landed in the Top 25 of the first Amway Coaches Poll of 2018 on Thursday.

The first Amways Coaches Poll of 2018 was released today. Your Notre Dame football team made the Top 25, landing in the No. 11 spot.

This should not come as too much of a surprise, given where the power rankings of other outlets have had the Irish slotted so far this year. The Irish finished as the biggest riser in last year’s poll, moving up six sports after the win over LSU in the Citrus Bowl to finish No. 11.

As far as the teams on Notre Dame’s 2018 schedule, five of them were also included in the Top 25. They were ranked as follows:

13. Stanford

14. Michigan

15. USC

17. Virginia Tech

19. Florida State

Overall, there weren’t too many surprises. Alabama grabbed the top spot, which shouldn’t surprise anyone. Clemson, Ohio State, Georgia and Oklahoma rounded out the top five in that order.

Central Florida, coming off of an undefeated season and now going through a coaching change, landed in the Top 25 at No. 23. They were not, however, the highest-ranked Group of Five team.

That honor belonged to Boise State, who open the season ranked No. 22.

As mentioned earlier on this site, Notre Dame’s ranking in the initial poll combined with the rankings of some of the 2018 opponents means the Irish will instrumental in determining the participants in College Football Playoff. They will participate in several matchups that will likely have serious implications on how the playoff committee’s final four shakes out.

PODCAST: Notre Dame-Michigan Matchup Has Familiar Feel. dark. Next

The first of those key matchups will take place on September 1st, when the 14th-ranked Michigan Wolverines make their way to South Bend for one of the most anticipated Notre Dame football home-openers in quite some time.

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