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2015 College Football Playoff Poll: Notre Dame Ranked No. 4

Come discuss Notre Dame's ranking in the second playoff poll of the year.

Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports

Here is the second College Football Playoff poll for the 2015 season.

(Current AP Poll ranking and difference in parentheses)

PLAYOFF TEAMS

RANK TEAM RECORD AP POLL
1 CLEMSON 9-0 1 (E)
2 ALABAMA 8-1 3 (-1)
3 OHIO STATE 9-0 2 (+1)
4 NOTRE DAME 8-1 6 (-2)

Playoff Semi-Finals:

Orange Bowl: Clemson vs. Notre Dame

Cotton Bowl: Alabama vs. Ohio State

If this were the final poll of the season we'd be seeing re-match of Notre Dame's trip to Death Valley, plus a re-match of last year's national semi-final when the Buckeyes topped the Crimson Tide.

RANK TEAM RECORD AP POLL
5 IOWA 9-0 8 (-3)
6 BAYLOR 8-0 4 (+2)
7 STANFORD 8-1 7 (E)
8 OKLAHOMA STATE 9-0 5 (+3)
9 LSU 7-1 9 (E)
10 UTAH 8-1 10 (E)
11 FLORIDA 8-1 11 (E)
12 OKLAHOMA 8-1 12 (E)
13 MICHIGAN STATE 8-1 14 (-1)
14 MICHIGAN 7-2 15 (-1)
15 TCU 8-1 13 (+2)
16 FLORIDA STATE 7-2 19 (-3)
17 MISS STATE 7-2 20 (-3)
18 NORTHWESTERN 7-2 24 (-6)
19 UCLA 7-2 18 (+1)
20 NAVY 7-1 22 (-2)
21 MEMPHIS 8-1 25 (-4)
22 TEMPLE 8-1 21 (+1)
23 NORTH CAROLINA 8-1 17 (+6)
24 HOUSTON 9-0 16 (+8)
25 WISCONSIN 8-2 23 (+2)

Projected New Year's Six Bowls:

Rose Bowl: Iowa vs. Stanford

Sugar Bowl: Baylor vs. LSU

Fiesta Bowl: Utah vs. Oklahoma State

Peach Bowl: Florida vs. Navy

The big news for the second poll of the season is our Fighting Irish moving up into the 4th spot and in a potential re-match with Clemson. Committee chairman Jeff Long said tonight that they were spending most of their time ranking the No. 5 through 8 teams which is good news that Notre Dame was so firmly in the 4th spot.

Long also mentioned a couple of Top 25 wins, the great play of DeShone Kizer, and overcoming injuries as the reasons why Notre Dame was so solidly in the 4th spot.

Wisconsin, North Carolina, and Navy are the new teams in this week's poll. As things stand right now, the Navy Midshipmen would gain access to one of the NY6 bowls as the highest ranked Group of 5 conference team.

Toledo, Texas A&M, and Ole Miss are the teams that have fallen out of the rankings.

Most assumed Oklahoma State would be at either 4th or 5th but a placement at 8th is a pretty damning indictment of the Cowboys' lack of schedule strength thus far.

Teams getting more respect from the CFB Playoff Committee relative to their AP rank: Iowa, Florida State, Miss State, Northwestern, and Memphis. Despite suffering their 2nd loss this weekend at Clemson the Seminoles stayed put at 16th in the playoff poll.

Teams not getting respect from the Committee: Oklahoma State, North Carolina, and Houston.