After the Notre Dame football team lost a 41-40 Saturday night game to Texas A&M, most everyone around the program knew that the team's playoff hopes were on life support, if not already declared dead. The Sunday afternoon release of the AP Top 25 underlined that message in spades; however, the rankings did also offer a shred of hope.
The Irish haven't had a great season by any stretch. However, no one can dispute that they've gone toe-to-toe with two teams who are very, very good and have lost by a grand total of 4 points. That's likely the only reason Marcus Freeman and Co. find themselves still ranked by the Associated Press.
Starting the season inside the Top 10 helps as well. After they lost to Miami, they dropped a few spots, but since it was against another Top 10 team on the road, they got the benefit of the doubt. A home loss to Texas A&M was the big hit. The new AP Poll has the Notre Dame football team just barely hanging onto the Top 25 as they are the No. 24 team.
Notre Dame football drops to No. 24 in AP Top 25 after Week 3 loss
The new ranking does mark a 16-spot drop, easily the biggest of any team in the AP Top 25 that is still ranked. They also benefited by jumping a few spots last week when they were off.
Texas A&M, meanwhile, had the biggest rise in the ranks after their big win, which means a 3-0 start to the season. The Aggies jumped from No. 16 to No. 10 by defeating the Irish.
Needless to say, the Notre Dame football team is the only 0-2 team that is ranked. Now they have to start winning games and start rising back up the ranks. That's easier to do when the team is already inside the AP Top 25 than when it's on the outside looking in.