Three weeks into its 2023 season, Notre Dame (3-0) finds itself Sunday in a place few outside the program expected the Irish to be a quarter of the way through it.
Ahead of Alabama in the polls.
Just two of them, mind you. The coaches poll left the Irish at No. 11 following their 45-24 road win at NC State (1-1) on Saturday, just the Wolfpack’s second loss at Carter-Finley Stadium in Raleigh, N.C., in the past 18 games played there. It was also the first time NC State had lost at home to a non-conference team since 2013.
Notre Dame’s lightning-delayed triumph, though, nudged the Irish up a spot in both the Associated Press Top 25 and the NFF-FWAA Super 16 polls, to No. 9. Alabama’s 34-24 home loss to Texas on Saturday dropped the Crimson Tide (1-1) to No. 10 in those two polls.
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The Irish host Central Michigan (1-1) on Saturday (2:30 p.m.; Peacock streaming). The Chippewas edged FCS school New Hampshire, 45-42, on Saturday.
Notre Dame has amassed a total of 143 points in its three games to start the season, the most since 1944, when the Irish scored 148 against Pitt, Tulane, 64 and Dartmouth collectively. ND has scored 40-plus points in each of the first three games of a season for the first time since 1932 (73, 62, 42).
Among Notre Dame’s future opponents, USC (3-0) and Ohio State (2-0) swapped spots of sorts in the AP poll. The Trojans rose a spot to No. 5 after a 56-10 mauling of Stanford on Saturday night, while the Buckeyes handled FCS school Youngstown State, 35-7, and then slipped from No. 4 to No. 6.
Duke (2-0) is the only other future ND opponent that’s ranked this week. The Blue Devils saw their top two QBs go a combined 20-of-20 passing in a 42-7 romp over FCS school Lafayette, and held steady at No. 21.
Previously 25th-ranked Clemson (1-1), which the Irish face on the road on Nov. 4, fell out of the poll following a 66-17 rout of FCS school Charleston Southern.
NFF-FWAA Super 16 poll
AP and Coaches polls
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