Notre Dame Moves Way Up In The Latest ESPN Top 25 Rankings
ESPN has reacted to the wild movement this offseason by updating its Way-Too-Early Top 25 for the 2024 season, and that means a big move for Notre Dame. The Irish are a virtual lock to be a preseason Top 10 team, and ESPN moved the Irish all the up to No. 5 in its most recent Top 25 ranking.
The original Way-Too-Early Top 25 came in January after the national title game, and Notre Dame ranked 10th in that initial ranking. All the movement in college football vaulted Notre Dame way up. Here is what ESPN had to say about Notre Dame's place in the updated ranking.
"The Fighting Irish weren't bad in coach Marcus Freeman's first two seasons, winning 19 games. But it's time for them to turn the corner, and Freeman has laid the groundwork by adding former Duke quarterback Riley Leonard and bringing back offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock, who directed LSU's high-flying offense in 2023. Leonard underwent ankle surgery to repair an injury suffered last season. He is expected to be ready for spring practice in March. The Irish also added receivers Kris Mitchell (Florida International) and Beaux Collins (Clemson) to shore up an underwhelming receiving corps. Finding replacements for bookend tackles Joe Alt and Blake Fisher will be a priority in spring practice." - Mark Schlabach, ESPN
Notre Dame leaped ahead of Ole Miss (now No. 6), Missouri (now No. 7), Alabama (now No. 9), Arizona (now No. 11) and Michigan (now No. 13) to climb up to No. 5.
Should the the 2024 regular season end with the current ESPN rankings the Irish would host a first round College Football Playoff contest. In the current format the Irish would likely face the highest ranked Group of 5 team, although the actual format has yet to be decided with the collapse of the Pac 12. If Notre Dame won that game it would be slated to play No. 4 Texas in the quarterfinals.
Three Notre Dame opponents also made the Top 25 rankings. Florida State ranked No. 15, Louisville ranked No. 21 and Texas A&M ranked No. 25. USC was listed as the first team in the "just missed" category. Notre Dame hosts Florida State (Nov. 9) and Louisville (Sept. 28) and plays at Texas A&M (Aug. 31) and USC (Nov. 30).
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