Notre Dame delivered a 28-point win over No. 18 Wisconsin and saw a few teams ranked ahead of it lose.
That's a recipe for a climb in the polls.
Sure enough, the Irish (4-0) rose in Sunday's updated AP top 25 and USA Today Coaches Poll a day after their 41-13 defeat of the Badgers. They're the No. 9 team in the AP rankings, up three spots from No. 12 after leaping No. 10 Florida and No. 11 Ohio State. They jumped three spots from No. 10 to No. 7 in the coaches poll.
Notre Dame's Saturday game vs. Cincinnati (2:30 p.m., NBC) is now a top-10 matchup. The Bearcats are the No. 7 team in the AP top 25 and No. 8 in the coaches poll. They're also the only ranked team on the Irish's 2021 schedule after several opponents suffered losses.
Wisconsin (1-2, 0-1 Big Ten) dropped out of the AP rankings after yesterday's loss. North Carolina (2-2, 1-2 ACC) fell from 21st to unranked after a 45-22 loss to Georgia Tech. Virginia Tech defeated FCS opponent Richmond and received 20 points in the AP poll. USC remains unranked after a 45-27 home loss to Oregon State.
AP Top 25
1. Alabama (4-0)
2. Georgia (4-0)
3. Oregon (4-0)
4. Penn State (4-0)
5. Iowa (4-0)
6. Oklahoma (4-0)
7. Cincinnati (3-0)
8. Arkansas (4-0)
9. Notre Dame (4-0)
10. Florida (3-1)
11. Ohio State (3-1)
12. Ole Miss (3-0)
13. BYU (4-0)
14. Michigan (4-0)
15. Texas A&M (3-1)
16. Coastal Carolina (4-0)
17. Michigan State (4-0)
18. Fresno State (4-1)
19. Oklahoma State (4-0)
20. UCLA (3-1)
21. Baylor (4-0)
22. Auburn (3-1)
23. North Carolina State (3-1)
24. Wake Forest (4-0)
25. Clemson (2-2)
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