Slap the Sign
Fansided

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) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
4 of 4
Next
Notre Dame
AUBURN, ALABAMA – NOVEMBER 30: Head coach Nick Saban of the Alabama Crimson Tide reacts during the game against the Auburn Tigers at Jordan Hare Stadium on November 30, 2019 in Auburn, Alabama. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images) /

No. 13 Alabama (10-2)

Alabama played only three games against ranked opponents and had the 51st hardest strength of schedule in football, coming in 13 spots behind the Irish. While they would go 1-2 versus their ranked opponents this year, they played both LSU (46-41) and Auburn (48-45) extremely close, while blowing out Texas A&M (47-28) for their lone win against a ranked opponent. Their performance against top ranked LSU likely gave them the credibility to allow the college football committee to rank them ahead of Notre Dame, something that is difficult to argue.

No. 14 Michigan (9-3)

Michigan had five games against ranked opponents this year, going 2-3 in those games. They would lose to Wisconsin (35-14), Penn State (28-21) and Ohio State (56-27). However, they would win against Iowa (10-3) and more importantly would blow out Notre Dame (45-14), which is the main reason they are ranked one spot above the Irish.

Michigan did not look good during a number of their games this season, with blowout losses to Ohio State and Wisconsin and a game where Army took them to double overtime. However, in fairness to the Wolverines, they did have the 15th most difficult strength of schedule in college football this season, 23 spots ahead of the Irish. This also likely played a role in them being ranked ahead of Notre Dame.

Conclusion

While it is a difficult pill to swallow seeing teams with more losses being ranked above Notre Dame in the Top 25, the Irish weren’t blatantly slighted by any means. The bottom line is the brutal blowout the Irish suffered at the hands of Michigan did them in. If they did not lose that game, they may have been in serious contention for the fourth spot in the College Football Playoff. Worst case scenario, they are sitting in a New Year’s Six bowl game.

While some legitimate arguments can be made that Notre Dame could be ranked ahead of teams such as Florida, Utah and Michigan, the committee looks to have gotten the rank of the Irish correct.

Next. Can we consider 2019 a success?. dark

While Notre Dame may not like where they are currently ranked and the fact that they were snubbed from bigger bowl games, they need only to look into the mirror to find the true culprit for this outcome. The Michigan game was the defining moment in this season and as a result, the Irish are off to play Iowa State in the Camping World Bowl on December 28th.

Home/Notre Dame Football