With the bowl season officially concluding last night and Alabama being crowned champion once again for the sixth time in the last 12 years, the coaches had a chance to examine what they saw. The final Amway Coaches Poll powered by USA TODAY Sports saw the Irish drop one spot from No. 4 to No. 5.
It was obvious that the loss to Alabama made in impact on them, but in reality it shouldn’t have. Although Notre Dame only managed to score 14 points against the eventual national champions, they held them to their lowest point total of the season, 31.
Throughout the season, Brian Kelly’s team never fell out of the top 10, with their highest rating being No. 2 and lowest was No. 10. A final record of 10-2 showed they were one of the best teams in the country.
Alabama rightfully received every single 1st place vote, while their combatants in the title game, Ohio State finished second. Clemson was third and Texas A&M rounded out the top 5.
Here is the final Amway Coaches Poll with the ACC teams in bold and the last rankings in parenthesis.
1 – Alabama (1)
2 – Ohio State (3)
3 – Clemson (2)
4 – Texas A&M (5)
5 – Notre Dame (4)
6 – Oklahoma (7)
7 – Georgia (9)
8 – Cincinnati (6)
9 – Iowa State (12)
10 – Northwestern (13)
11 – BYU (15)
12 – Florida (10)
13 – Indiana (8)
14 – Coastal Carolina (11)
15 – Iowa (16)
16 – ULL (17)
17 – North Carolina (14)
18 – Liberty (23)
19 – Oklahoma State (21)
20 – Texas (24)
21 – USC (19)
22 – Miami, FL (18)
23 – Ball St (NR)
24 – San Jose State (20)
25 – Buffalo (NR)
Dropped out: No. 22 NC State, No. 25 Tulsa