SOUTH BEND, Ind. — There was a time it seemed where every college football poll felt like a referendum of whether Notre Dame was better off without Brian Kelly as well as whether Brian Kelly was better off without Notre Dame.
And suddenly now it feels largely irrelevant, as the Irish (9-1) are not only chasing higher goals than coaching comparisons, but they’re getting close enough to touch them.
A berth in the first-ever College Football Playoff and perhaps a first CFP victory moved closer to the scope of reality than hope on Saturday, as Notre Dame moved to 34-0 all-time as a ranked team at home against ACC competition with a 35-14 dismissal of Virginia.
On Sunday the coaches poll bumped third-year head coach Marcus Freeman's Irish up one spot, to No. 6. The AP poll followed the trend as well, promoting Notre Dame two spots, to No. 6. The CFP rankings come out Tuesday night (7 EST; ESPN) with ND likely to move into a projection of hosting a first-round playoff game.
The Irish were ranked eighth and seeded ninth in last Tuesday’s reveal. Seeds 5-8 host first-round CFP games against seeds 9-12 on Dec. 20 or 21.
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Oregon remained No. 1 in the latest AP poll after escaping with a 16-13 win at Wisconsin on Saturday night. Ohio State is No. 2, followed by Texas, Penn State, Indiana, ND, Alabama, Georgia and Tennessee to round out the Top 10.
The Vols lost to Georgia 31-17, Miami checked in at No. 11 as the highest-ranked ACC team. BYU, upset at home by Kansas 17-13 late Saturday night, tumbled out of the top 10 to No. 14.
Just three games remain among the CFP contenders in which they face ranked teams before Conference Championship Game weekend. Two of them are this weekend — Notre Dame facing No. 18 Army (9-0) at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx on Saturday night. Also this weekend No. 2 Ohio State (9-1) host No. 5 Indiana (10-0). On Nov. 30, SEC col-leaders Texas A&M (8-2) and Texas (9-1) clash in College Station.
The Aggies are ranked 15th and the Longhorns No. 3.
Kelly’s LSU Tigers (6-4), incidentally, fell completely out of both polls following a 27-16 upset loss at Florida on Saturday. It’s the former Irish head coach’s first three-game losing streak since dropping the final two games of the 2015 season, to Stanford and Ohio State, then losing the 2016 opener in double-overtime at Texas.
It’s Kelly’s first three-game slide within a single season since losing games 2, 3 and 4 of the Kelly Era at Notre Dame back in 2010 to Michigan, Michigan State and Stanford.
He’ll face one of his former defensive coordinators at ND, Clark Lea, this coming Saturday night. Lea is in his fourth season as Vanderbilt’s head coach. The Commodores are 6-4 overall. The Tigers finish the regular season Nov. 30 at home against Oklahoma (5-5).
Army had a bye week this past Saturday and have already clinched a spot in the American Athletic Conference Championship Game vs. No. 20 Tulane on Dec. 7.
The Cadets lead the nation in rushing offense, pass efficiency, sacks allowed, fewest turnovers lost and red zone defense, and are second in scoring defense. But Army has only played one FBS team with a winning record — East Carolina (6-4).
And the collective record of its opponents outside of FCS Lehigh is 27-53.
TV start time for ND-Army on NBC/Peacock is 7 p.m. EST in the Shamrock Series matchup.
CFP contenders' remaining regular-season opponents
No. 1 Oregon (11-0): vs. Washington (6-5)
No. 2 Ohio State (9-1): vs. Indiana (11-0), vs. Michigan (5-5)
No. 3 Texas (9-1): vs. Kentucky (4-6), at Texas A&M (8-2)
No. 4 Penn State (9-1): at Minnesota (6-4), vs. Maryland (4-6)
No. 5 Indiana (10-0): at Ohio State (9-1), vs. Purdue (1-9)
No. 6 Notre Dame (9-1): neutral site vs. Army (9-0), at USC (5-5)
No. 7 Alabama (8-2): vs. Oklahoma (5-5), vs. Auburn (4-6)
No. 8 Georgia (8-2): UMass (2-8), vs. Georgia Tech (6-4)
No. 9 Ole Miss (8-2): at Florida (5-5), vs. Mississippi State (2-8)
No. 10 Tennessee (8-2): vs. UTEP (2-8), vs. Vanderbilt (6-4)
No. 11 Miami: vs. Wake Forest (4-6), at Syracuse (7-3)
No. 12 Boise State (9-1): at Wyoming (2-8), vs. Oregon State (4-6)
No. 13 SMU (8-1): at Virginia (5-5), vs. Cal (5-5)
No. 14 BYU: at Arizona State (8-2), vs. Houston (4-6)
No. 15 Texas A&M (8-2): at Auburn (4-6), vs. Texas (9-1)
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