On nights like Monday, you wonder if Alabama will ever lose again as long as Nick Saban remains heading the Crimson Tide football team as they routed their way to their sixth national championship in the last 12 seasons.
To the surprise of nobody, when USA TODAY released their early top 25 for the 2021 college football season on Tuesday, Alabama, despite losing a ton of talent to the NFL, still check-in at number one.
But what you’re probably wondering is where exactly Notre Dame falls.
The Irish sneak into the back half of the top 10, coming eighth.
Between No. 1 Alabama and No. 8 Notre Dame are the following:
2. Georgia
3. Oklahoma
4. Clemson
5. Ohio State
6. Iowa State
7. Texas A&M
Georgia is doing the Mack Brown pre-2005 thing recently, winning the recruiting rankings national championship annually but not getting over the hump yet. Mainstays Oklahoma, Clemson, and Ohio State round out the top five while Iowa State and Texas A&M sit at six and seven.
What Notre Dame at eight means to me is the respect they currently have as a program as the Irish have one of the nation’s best offensive lines, their veteran quarterback, two leading receivers, the best linebacker award winner, and plenty else.
Yet there Brian Kelly’s Notre Dame squad is there at eight.
My question for Notre Dame fans is knowing what you know about how much needs replaced and how things ended with blowout losses to Clemson and Alabama, would you sign up for finishing eighth in the final rankings next season?
My off-season bar is set at a team that should win nine games and could win 10, but one that I’d be pleasantly shocked if they actually made a legitimate run at another College Football Playoff appearance.
With that in mind, yes, I’d be thrilled with another top ten finish for Notre Dame entering this kind of off-season.
Where did Notre Dame opponents rank on the list?
9. Cincinnati
11. North Carolina
14. Wisconsin
17. USC