Why America Doesn’t Need the AP Poll to Judge Notre Dame Football

Notre Dame vs the SEC in primetime will set Irish narrative in 2024, not the polls

Apr 20, 2024; Notre Dame, IN, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish head coach Marcus Freeman watches in the Blue-Gold game at Notre Dame Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matt Cashore-USA TODAY Sports / Matt Cashore-USA TODAY Sports

AP Poll released and Notre Dame sits in fine position

Notre Dame checked in at number 7 in the initial AP poll that was recently released.

It fell in place behind Georgia, Ohio State, Oregon, Texas, Alabama, and Ole Miss. Upcoming opponents, FSU checked in at 10, Texas A&M 20th, and USC 23rd.

It's informative to have a baseline of how much the voters in this poll value, or don't value, certain teams entering the season. But this poll will quickly lose its value as the season kicks off and in Notre Dame's case, their Week One performance will speak much louder than any arbitrary preseason rank.

2024 College Football Rankings: AP Poll Top 25 Preseason

Where do all the top teams rank in the 2024 preseason AP Poll Top 25? Which teams just missed out but are also receiving votes?https://t.co/8RmY5mEZSa

— College Football News (@ColFootballNews) August 12, 2024

Notre Dame Will Prove its standing in the SEC Week 1

Sure Irish fans like seeing their team starting the season in the top 10. But the reality is that most of America will make up their minds about what they think of Notre Dame based on Week One's result. Everyone will be watching. It's Notre Dame vs The SEC.

Should Notre Dame win, they will have justified their early ranking in the top ten and perhaps will warrant a move upward.

And should Notre Dame drop this game, the Irish fan base will be on edge for 11 more games and questions about the stability of the Marcus Freeman era will begin to fester. Notre Dame will prematurely be counted out for the year by major media outlets, and swaths of anti-Irish college football fans.

Where Notre Dame is ranked doesn't matter. Go beat Texas A&M.

Notre Dame Football: Quick Analysis of 2024 AP Poll Preseason Rankings

Every Preseason AP College Football Poll: Where Did Notre Dame Rank?

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