Notre Dame Football: Poll movement debunks Irish bias
By J.P. Scott
Despite a blowout win on the road, Notre Dame football dropped in both major polls.
When it comes to Notre Dame football, you either have Irish fans or Irish haters. There’s really no middle ground.
A popular rally cry for Notre Dame haters is that the media have an Irish bias, whereas Notre Dame often gets an extra bump in the polls just for being Notre Dame.
That does not appear to be the case at the moment.
Following a road win over Duke — arguably the most impressive and complete win for Notre Dame football this season — the Irish dropped a spot in both the AP and Coaches polls.
Part of the reason for Notre Dame sliding down the polls was Minnesota’s win over Penn State. That win rocketed the Gophers six spots up in both polls. At the same time, Penn State dropped four spots in the AP Poll and six spots in the coaches poll, also helping to push Notre Dame down.
Additionally, Wisconsin leapfrogged the Irish in both polls by way of their win over Iowa.
The bottom line is this: there may have been such a thing as Notre Dame bias decades ago, but it is clear that such a thing no longer exists. Today’s pollsters grew up likely despising the Irish. Now they are in a position to punish Notre Dame severely when the Irish lose and ignore blowout road wins like the one on Saturday.
That’s life for Notre Dame football and its fans. The entire college football world is waiting for you to lose and will show no sympathy when you get no respect. If anything, the Notre Dame bias seems to have turned against — not for — the Irish.
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Just like every season, Notre Dame’s destiny is in its own hands. Keep winning, and the pollsters and committee members eventually become powerless.