Notre Dame football rose in the Coaches and Associated Press Polls for the third straight week.
The Fighting Irish (8-1) went into last week’s slate of games ranked No. 8 in both polls. They emerged from a wild weekend of upsets ranked No. 7 in both polls. Michigan State (8-1) fell behind the Irish after getting upset by Purdue.
Of course, these two polls don't have much bearing on what will happen on Tuesday when the second set of College Football Playoff rankings are released. Notre Dame was ranked No. 10 in the first CFP rankings of the season last week.
Notre Dame is on the road this weekend against Virginia (6-3) at 7:30 p.m. ET on ABC. The Cavaliers are the last team on the Irish's schedule with a winning record. Notre Dame's final home gamer of the season is against Georgia Tech (3-6) on Nov. 20. Then the Irish are on the road at Stanford (3-6) on Nov. 27.
Notre Dame is a 7.5 point favorite this week against Virginia according to OddsShark.com. The Irish will be favored in all three of their remaining regular season games, but the opponents do not make it easy for the Irish to keep climbing in the polls.
Head coach Brian Kelly and company are going to need some help to enter playoff contention over the next three weeks. Here's a look at the most recent AP Top 25.
Week 11 College Football AP Top 25
1. Georgia (9-0)
2. Cincinnati (9-0)
3. Alabama (8-1)
4. Oklahoma (9-0)
5. Oregon (8-1)
6. Ohio State (8-1)
7. Notre Dame (8-1)
8. Michigan State (8-1)
9. Michigan (8-1)
10. Oklahoma State (8-1)
11. Texas A&M (7-2)
12. Ole Miss (7-2)
13. Wake Forest (8-1)
14. BYU (8-2)
15. UTSA (9-0)
16. Auburn (6-3)
17. Houston (8-1)
18. Baylor (7-2)
19. Iowa (7-2)
20. Wisconsin (6-3)
21. NC State (7-2)
22. Coastal Carolina (8-1)
23. Penn State (6-3)
24. Louisiana (8-1)
25. Pitt (7-2)
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