Notre Dame football: Where the Irish are in CBS Sports preseason ranking
By Brad Weiss
The Notre Dame football team is coming off another appearance in the College Football Playoff, but where does CBS Sports rank them to start the season.
We are inching ever so close to the 2021 college football season, as it is officially August, and we will get some games this month. Of course, the Notre Dame football team kicks off their season on September 5, when they travel down to Tallahassee to take on the Florida State Seminoles in a Sunday night matchup.
For the Irish, this is going to be an interesting season, as they will be forced to replace 14 players who have gone on to the NFL. Those players dominated on both sides of the ball, and because of that, national media has been all over the place in terms of their preseason rankings, and where the Irish could land.
Even with the losses this is a top-10 team, and possibly even better if things go right, and that is where one outlet put them.
Notre Dame football ranked No. 10 by CBS Sports
On Monday, Chip Patterson from CBSSports.com released his preseason ranking of all the teams in college football. At the top were the usual suspects, as Alabama and Clemson were ranked No. 1 and 2. Coming in at No. 3 was Oklahoma, led by quarterback Spencer Rattler, and Ohio State rounded out the top-4.
That ranking coincides with what Phil Steele believes the College Football Playoff could look like this season.
One team that is ranked above Notre Dame, and that they will play during the regular season is the North Carolina Tar Heels, who many are high on this season. The Tar Heels are led by quarterback Sam Howell, who is a potential top-5 pick, though the defense had no trouble shutting him down last season.
Landing right after the Irish is Cincinnati, another team on their docket this season, and one that could give them trouble. Overall, Notre Dame football will play three of the top-25 teams on this list.
There is certainly a lot to like about this Notre Dame football team, including the coaching staff, which added Marcus Freeman this offseason. They have All-American talent on both sides of the ball, and if they can go through a tough regular season with only one loss or even none, they could be one of the last four teams standing once again in 2021.