The Notre Dame football team spent the weekend preparing for its Week 3 matchup with Texas A&M and watching the rest of the college football world do battle. Despite not playing a game this week, the Irish still got some love from the AP Top 25 voters.
Sitting idle after a loss can have some negative connotations because the team wants to get back on the field. It can also cement a perception of a team, even if they don't have any control over how they're viewed. However, AP pollsters are more convinced than they were a week ago that the Irish are a Top 10 squad.
Notre Dame football moves up one spot in latest AP Top 25
On Sunday afternoon's release of the new AP Top 25, the Notre Dame football team moved up one spot. They sat just inside the Top 10 last week at No. 9. However, this week they're in a more solid playoff-type spot at No. 8. They can move up even more if they can take care of business next Saturday against the Texas A&M Aggies.
Notre Dame sits just one spot ahead of the Illinois Fighting Illini, who jumped two places after a big win over the Duke Blue Devils. Florida State rounds out the new Top 10 after the Seminoles started the year 2-0.
The Notre Dame football team will now go into its Week 3 game against the Texas A&M Aggies knowing that, should it take care of business from here on out, it will almost certainly make the playoffs. However, they need to be careful of an upset-minded Aggies who would like to repay what the Irish did to them in College Station last season.