Notre Dame football: Irish inching towards the top-10 in latest AP Poll
By Brad Weiss
The Notre Dame football team moved up in the latest 2021 AP Poll, and if they play the way they did Saturday, a top-10 spot is a real possibility soon.
Coming out of their bye week, nobody really knew what to make of the 2021 Notre Dame football team. Sure, they were 5-1, and their only loss was to now-No. 2 Cincinnati, but nobody was really considering them a College Football Playoff contender.
Well, after a stunning victory over USC, dominating on both sides of the ball, the Irish have an opportunity of turning some heads the rest of the way. USC went into that game out of their bye week as well, and it was a rivalry game, but the Irish made sure to show who the better team was right out of the gate.
A top-25 team for the entire season, Notre Dame football has been stuck in terms of the AP Poll, coming in at No. 13 the last two weeks. This week, however, they finally made a move up the ladder, and it could be the start of something special.
Notre Dame football ranked No. 11
When the latest AP Poll was released on Sunday afternoon, the Irish made a solid two-spot jump, going from No. 13 to No. 11 overall. That move was due to how dominant they were against USC on Saturday night, as the defense played outstanding football, and they finally got the running game going behind Kyren Williams.
Notre Dame looked different on Saturday night, and maybe it was the extra week to prepare, but either way,
The Irish have the talent to continue to stack wins, as they do not play another ranked team for the rest of their regular season. Williams running the way he did on Saturday night is a great sign for this team, and by this time next week, they could certainly be a top-10 team for the first time in weeks.