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Notre Dame Football: Was bias a factor in final Irish ranking?

By Matt Clark

ATHENS, GEORGIA - SEPTEMBER 21: Head coach Brian Kelly of the Notre Dame Fighting argues with the referee while playing the Georgia Bulldogs at Sanford Stadium on September 21, 2019 in Athens, Georgia. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)
ATHENS, GEORGIA - SEPTEMBER 21: Head coach Brian Kelly of the Notre Dame Fighting argues with the referee while playing the Georgia Bulldogs at Sanford Stadium on September 21, 2019 in Athens, Georgia. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images) /
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STATE COLLEGE, PA – NOVEMBER 30: Tyler Rudolph #21 of the Penn State Nittany Lions celebrates with teammates after recovering a kick against the Rutgers Scarlet Knights during the second half of the game at Beaver Stadium on November 30, 2019 in State College, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Scott Taetsch/Getty Images) /

No. 10 Penn State (10-2)

Penn State had two wins against ranked opponents Iowa (17-12), Michigan (28-21) and two losses against ranked opponents Minnesota (31-26) and Ohio State (28-17). Despite having a weaker schedule than the Irish, the win against a common opponent in Michigan and the fact that they played a top ranked Ohio State in a close loss gives them the clear advantage over the Irish.

No. 11 Utah (11-2)

The 11th ranked Utah team had two games this season against ranked opponents, which they would go 1-1. They defeated Arizona State (21-3), when the Sun Devils were ranked 17th early in the season and they would lose to Oregon (37-15) in the PAC-12 conference championship game. However, the Utes would lose to USC (30-23), a team that the Irish defeated. In addition, Utah was ranked as the 45th hardest strength of schedule, seven spots behind the Irish, who played four games against ranked opponents, winning two of them. A clear case could be made for Notre Dame being ranked ahead of Utah.

No. 12 Auburn (9-3)

Auburn had one of the toughest schedules in college football, playing six games against ranked opponents. They would have wins against Oregon (27-21), Texas A&M (28-20) and Alabama (48-45). In addition, they would lose to Florida (24-13), LSU (23-20) and Georgia (21-14). A case could be made for Notre Dame being ranked ahead of the Tigers due to record and the fact that they played a common opponent — Georgia — in a closer game, despite Auburn getting them at home. Conversely, Auburn had the third most difficult strength of schedule in college football, coming in 35 spots ahead of the Irish. Given that their losses were close against top ranked opponents and Notre Dame had one blowout loss against Michigan, its not difficult to understand why Auburn is ranked higher than Notre Dame.

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