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Notre Dame Football: 3 Reasons the Irish were ranked too low in final AP Poll

By Andrew Hall

ARLINGTON, TEXAS - JANUARY 01: Ian Book #12 of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish calls the cadence during the College Football Playoff Semifinal at the Rose Bowl football game against the Alabama Crimson Tide at AT&T Stadium on January 01, 2021 in Arlington, Texas. The Alabama Crimson Tide defeated the Notre Dame Fighting Irish 31-14. (Photo by Alika Jenner/Getty Images)
ARLINGTON, TEXAS - JANUARY 01: Ian Book #12 of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish calls the cadence during the College Football Playoff Semifinal at the Rose Bowl football game against the Alabama Crimson Tide at AT&T Stadium on January 01, 2021 in Arlington, Texas. The Alabama Crimson Tide defeated the Notre Dame Fighting Irish 31-14. (Photo by Alika Jenner/Getty Images) /
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The Irish and the Aggies played two common opponents in 2020. (Photo by Grant Halverson/Getty Images)
The Irish and the Aggies played two common opponents in 2020. (Photo by Grant Halverson/Getty Images) /

Common Opponents

Although Notre Dame and Texas A&M did not play head-to-head this season, they played two mutual opponents: North Carolina and Alabama. Both teams defeated the Tar Heels and lost to the Tide, and if we are splitting hairs comparing the two outcomes, Notre Dame is the clear winner.

Notre Dame beat a fully loaded North Carolina team, 31-17, while Texas A&M defeated the Tar Heels, 41-27. Both victories were by a margin of 14 points, but the Aggies pulled ahead with two late touchdowns while only 3:44 remained. The Irish dominated the entire second half; not allowing a point to one of the highest-scoring offenses in the nation.

The Irish and Aggies (and basically everyone in the country) were outmatched against Alabama. The Tide beat Texas A&M by 28 points in a regular-season matchup, but the Irish lost by 17 points to the Crimson Tide in a championship game situation. The Aggies trailed 35-14 at halftime, and the Irish were down 21-7.

Alabama had more incentive to pour it on and hold nothing back in a championship game.

The win-loss results were the same but the games played out much differently. It demonstrated that the Irish have a slight edge on Texas A&M and deserve to be ranked ahead of the Aggies at No. 4.

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