Notre Dame football: Recent ranking show how worthless they are
By Brad Weiss
The Notre Dame football team continues to be unranked despite three straight victories, as rankings continue to show how worthless they are.
On Saturday night, the Notre Dame football team took on the No. 16 team in the country in the BYU Cougars. For the Irish, this was a chance to get back on the national scene, as they had not received a single AP Poll vote in the previous three weeks.
In their first two games of the season, the Irish struggled in a big way, losing to a very good Ohio State team on the road, and then inexplicably losing to Marshall at home. After struggling in the first half against Cal, they started to gain some momentum, and have looked like a completely different team since.
Right before their bye week, they had to go on the road to take on a high-powered team in the UNC Tar Heels, and they took care of business. After the break, the biggest test since Ohio State was in front of them, as BYU has looked outstanding this season, led by star quarterback Jaren Hall.
Notre Dame football dominated throughout, and with the win, you would think they would crack back into the top 25 rankings, but that did not happen.
Notre Dame football is at least one of the top 25 teams in the country
If there is one thing that the win against BYU proved is that the Irish are back, as they were able to handle the versatile Hall all game long, and the run game continued to improve. The Irish are dominating in the trenches, and with Drew Pyne playing as well as any quarterback in the country right now, the Irish stock should be on the rise.
However, looking at the latest AP Poll, Notre Dame football is still unranked, and incredibly, got fewer votes than both UNC and BYU, their latest victims. In the Coaches Poll, UNC cracked the top 25, and while the victory over BYU knocked the Cougars out, they are No. 1 in the teams outside of the top 25 with 77 votes, while the Irish got 13.
The truth is, the only ranking that really matters is the College Football Playoff ranking, so until that one comes out, all the rest are worthless. Notre Dame football is one of the top 25 teams in the country, there is no doubt there, and if they continue to use the formula they used on Saturday night, they are going to be a very tough out the rest of the way.