2024 Preseason College Football Coaches Poll Prediction: Where Will Notre Dame Be Ranked?

What will the preseason College Football Coaches Poll be, and where should Notre Dame be in the first top 25?

Head Coach of the Fighting Irish Marcus Freeman speaks to players after warmup at practice at the Fighting Irish Athletic Center at Notre Dame on Thursday July 27, 2023. / MATTIE NERETIN / USA TODAY NETWORK

The Coaches Poll takes a wee bit of a backseat to the AP Poll - not as much hype, not as much tradition, doesn’t involve media members so it doesn’t get the same play, not as many voters, etc. - but it’s just as important as any other preseason college football ranking now in a College Football Playoff era.

It’s the Coaches Poll so it’s about - you know - the coaches. They’re supposed to be experts in their field, and they’re supposed to know the landscape of college football.

But to know ANY major football coach ever is to know that the last people who should be voting on how good 25 teams are among 134 are coaches, the most laser-focused people on the planet.

They know their team, the team they just played, and the team they’re about to play.

It’s fun, though.

It’s a good way to see how the men who will directly deal with the 2024 college football season view the world - or, it’s someone in the sports information department who handles this; but I digress.

It’s about respect. It’s about taking a snapshot of the general view of college football. It’s about the 2024 Preseason College Football Coaches Poll.

How much respect will Notre Dame get? How do the coaches who vote in this thing see the Irish, and how do they view them compared to the other elite of the elite teams?

2024 Preseason College Football US LBM Coaches Poll Prediction: Notre Dame

Let’s start with this - there’s no way Notre Dame is ranked outside of the top ten. It finished 14th last season after a 10-3 season, and the hype and buzz are enough to think it could receive a whole lot of Coaches Poll love.

There’s also no way they’re in the top five … maybe.

There’s a wacky chance Notre Dame can sneak into the 5 slot, but in some configuration the top four will be Georgia, Ohio State, Texas, and Oregon. Not saying that’s right in terms of how good those four will be, but that’s almost certainly what the coaches think.

Five becomes tricky. It could be Notre Dame, but Alabama, Ole Miss, Florida State, Missouri, and Michigan might all be in the mix.

So with that in mind, the guess is that Notre Dame will be at the 6 or 7. We’ll do this again just before the preseason Coaches Poll is released, but here’s the best guess for the top 10 and where Notre Dame will fit …

10 Missouri

2023 Preseason Ranking: 44
2023 Final Coaches Poll Rank: 8

9 Michigan

2023 Preseason Ranking: 2
2023 Final Coaches Poll Rank: 1

8 Florida State

2023 Preseason Ranking: 8
2023 Final Coaches Poll Rank: 6

7 Ole Miss

2023 Preseason Ranking: 22
2023 Final Coaches Poll Rank: 9

6 Notre Dame

2023 Preseason Ranking: 13
2023 Final Coaches Poll Rank: 14

5 Alabama

2023 Preseason Ranking: 3
2023 Final Coaches Poll Rank: 5

4 Oregon

2023 Preseason Ranking: 15
2023 Final Coaches Poll Rank: 7

3 Texas

2023 Preseason Ranking: 12
2023 Final Coaches Poll Rank: 4

2 Ohio State

2023 Preseason Ranking: 4
2023 Final Coaches Poll Rank: 10

1 Georgia

2023 Preseason Ranking: 1
2023 Final Coaches Poll Rank: 3

AP Top 25 Preseason College Football Poll Prediction: Where Will Notre Dame Rank?