Notre Dame cracks Top 10 in Preseason AP Poll

For the second year in a row, Notre Dame is ranked inside the Top 10 in the AP preseason poll.

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As college football creeps closer and closer to it’s opening kickoff, the preseason AP Poll was released today and Notre Dame was the final team inside the Top 10.

This might seem a bit low, but the AP included teams from the Big Ten and the PAC-12, even though they will not be playing football this fall. Ohio State (2), Penn State (7) and Oregon (9), are all in front of the Irish, but that is just logistical right now. Essentially the Irish are the 7th rated team in the country.

Here is the full top 25:

  1. Clemson
  2. Ohio State
  3. Alabama
  4. Georgia
  5. Oklahoma
  6. LSU
  7. Penn State
  8. Florida
  9. Oregon
  10. Notre Dame
  11. Auburn
  12. Wisconsin
  13. Texas A&M
  14. Texas
  15. Oklahoma State
  16. Michigan
  17. USC
  18. North Carolina
  19. Minnesota
  20. Cincinnati
  21. UCF
  22. Utah
  23. Iowa State
  24. Iowa
  25. Tennessee
Others receiving votes:

Memphis 86, Virginia Tech 85, Boise State 68, Arizona State 66, Miami (FL) 42, Louisville 32, Appalachian State 26, Washington 21, Kentucky 20, Indiana 19, Baylor 15, California 11, TCU 9, Virginia 7, Navy 6, Florida State 6, SMU 3, Mississippi State 3, Air Force 3, Northwestern 1, UAB 1

This is the second year in a row that Notre Dame Football will start off inside the Top 10, they were 9th in last years poll. In 2018, the Irish were just two spots outside the Top 10, beginning the year ranked 12th.

The expectations will be high in this odd season. The Irish will have to face the preseason number 1 team Clemson Tigers and the 18th ranked North Carolina Tar Heels. Those are the three lone ACC teams that were ranked by the AP. The SEC led everyone with 7 teams in the Top 25, while the Big Ten had 6 and the Big XII had 4. The PAC-12 tied the ACC with three teams also.