Notre Dame Football: 3 Reasons the Irish were ranked too low in final AP Poll
By Andrew Hall
Penalizing Notre Dame for playing in championships
Let’s face it. The only reason AP voters vaulted the Texas A&M Aggies over the Notre Dame football team was that the Irish dropped their final two games of the season. They finished with a 10-2 record, while the Aggies end the year with a 9-1 mark. The voters simply see two losses next to Notre Dame and believes that it equates to Texas A&M being a better football team on the field.
This penalizes for playing for a conference championship and a national championship.
On the other hand, the Aggies stayed home on conference championship Saturday because they failed to qualify for the SEC title game. After failing to make the College Football Playoff, Texas A&M landed in the Orange Bowl against a short-handed North Carolina squad.
If the roles were reversed, Notre Dame would have likely finished undefeated. The Aggies probably drop another game to Alabama and finish the season at 9-2.
It is ridiculously illogical to penalize a team for playing better competition. Texas A&M wanted the opportunity to play in the College Football Playoff, but they were not selected. Instead, the Aggies played in a more winnable New Year’s Six game.
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Notre Dame faced off against two of the top three teams in the country in their final games. AP voters simply should see any of these three reasons as a cause to vote Notre Dame ahead of Texas A&M. The fact that they did not should make everyone scratch their head.