The Irish recently obtained a not so generous tag of being overrated. It could very well be due to their recent College Football Playoff record because the last game of the year typically stands out more than others.
Yes, the Irish have not fared well against Alabama or Clemson, but not many teams did in the years Notre Dame faced those two opponents. One college football writer sees the Irish’s status much differently, CBS Sports Barrett Sallee wants to squash the “Notre Dame is always overrated” narrative.
Take a look below at his facts, using the AP preseason and final rankings as his data.
Can we retire the "Notre Dame is always overrated" narrative?
Notre Dame preseason-to-postseason AP ranking since 2017:
2017: Unranked to No. 11
2018: No. 12 to No. 5
2019: No. 9 to No. 12
2020: No. 10 to No. 4
2021: No. 9 to No. 8
2022: No. 5 to ????— Barrett Sallee (@BarrettSallee) August 22, 2022
Since 2017, as Sallee points out, the Irish have finished better than their preseason ranking every season but one, 2019, when they still finished as one of the best teams in the country.
Might it be different if the Irish broke through and won a title in any of the seasons they either made the BCS title game or College Football Playoff. Absolutely, but to call Notre Dame always overrated does seem like a bit of a stretch.
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