Notre Dame Football: 3 Reasons the Irish were ranked too low in final AP Poll
By Andrew Hall
With the college football season coming to a close, the AP Poll released their final 2020 top-25 ranking, and Notre Dame football was ranked too low.
The Notre Dame football team finished fifth in the final AP poll, as Texas A&M ranked a spot ahead of the Irish at fourth, and Georgia finished sixth. Alabama, Ohio State, and Clemson topped the poll, and rightfully so, but for the Irish, their ranking was too low.
The Fighting Irish completed the 2020 season with a 10-2 record, with their best victories coming against a Trevor Lawrence-less Clemson squad and a fully-armed North Carolina team. The year ended on a sour note after the Irish dropped two games in a row by a large margin.
In the ACC Championship game, Notre Dame lost to Clemson, 34-10, then, in the College Football Playoff semifinal, Alabama bested the Irish, 31-14.
Because of the “narrative” around the program, the perception of the Irish suffers immensely. The Irish dropped a revenge game to Clemson in the ACC title game before playing Alabama tighter than Ohio State did. It is accurate that Notre Dame performs poorly on the big stage, however, almost everyone performs poorly on a big stage.
The reality in college football is that Alabama, Clemson, and Ohio State are more talented than anyone else. The average margin of defeat in a College Football Playoff semifinal is 20.9 points per game. Oklahoma, Oregon, Florida State, Washington, and even Clemson have suffered huge defeats in the semifinals.
The issue is not specific to the Notre Dame football program, yet, they were disrespected by AP voters for losing on a big stage this season.
Here are three reasons why the writers who vote in the AP poll got it wrong by ranking the Irish 5th.