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Notre Dame football: Early 2021 college football top-25 rankings

By Daniel Morrison

SOUTH BEND, IN - OCTOBER 12: Notre Dame Fighting Irish players face off at the line of scrimmage against the USC Trojans during a game at Notre Dame Stadium on October 12, 2019 in South Bend, Indiana. Notre Dame defeated USC 30-27. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images)
SOUTH BEND, IN - OCTOBER 12: Notre Dame Fighting Irish players face off at the line of scrimmage against the USC Trojans during a game at Notre Dame Stadium on October 12, 2019 in South Bend, Indiana. Notre Dame defeated USC 30-27. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images) /
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Where does Notre Dame football land in our first rankings of 2021? (Photo by Alika Jenner/Getty Images)
Where does Notre Dame football land in our first rankings of 2021? (Photo by Alika Jenner/Getty Images) /

It’s never too early to get into who should be ranked in the top-25 to start the next season and decide where we think Notre Dame football will land. The challenge is finding a good way to come up with those rankings. How much influence should the past season hold? Does returning production matter as much as roster talent?

The questions go on and on, but it comes down to a healthy blend of factors.

It’s important not to simply rank teams highly because they’re a name brand. For instance, Penn State came into 2020 highly thought of, but the reality of that team was that they were deeply flawed, and lost their first five games. Indiana and Ohio State were both able to artificially inflate their resumes by calling that a top-25 win, even though Penn State wasn’t a top-25 caliber team.

Now, Penn State made sense to have ranked, but too often teams with no business being ranked are because of their reputation. Look back to 2019, our most recent normal season, Nebraska counted as a ranked win for Colorado because the media convinced themselves the Cornhuskers were back.

Preseason rankings do matter for perception, and whether it’s fair or not, perception goes into how the strength of schedule is perceived by the College Football Playoff Committee and recruits. Those are two groups you need to like, if you want to win a National Championship, at least.

It should also be noted that these rankings don’t have the benefit of seeing spring practices, summer workouts, the transfer portal work itself out, rule changes take place, every coaching change to finish, or the second signing day. In other words, things can change.

For now, here is your 2021, preseason top-25 college football rankings:

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