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The Notre Dame Fighting Irish officially finished the season with a 12-1 record, and now with the #5 ranking in the AP Poll. Notre Dame’s lone loss came at the hands of the Clemson Tigers in the college football playoff. Clemson went on to crush the Alabama Crimson Tide in the national championship game by a score of 44-16.
Notre Dame was dropped 2 spots, yet the Oklahoma Sooners stayed at #4 with the Ohio State Buckeyes finishing in that #3 spot. It’s pretty much what we were expecting BEFORE Clemson took Alabama to the woodshed.
Seems pretty ridiculous to me, but then again, the AP Poll is only semi-relevant for about 1⁄2 of a season.
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Notre Dame had four opponents finish inside the Top 25, and one more just outside of the Top 25.
- #1 Clemson Tigers
- #14 Michigan Wolverines
- #15 Syracuse Orange
- #21 Northwestern Wildcats
- #27 Stanford Cardinal
Given the speed with which the @AP poll was released, it's a given that Bama could have lost 100-0 and been ranked #2.
— Dylan McKenna (@Ctrl_Alt_Dylan) January 8, 2019
Interesting that in 2012, Notre Dame lost in the Championship by 28 points and dropped 3 spots. pic.twitter.com/D6ZHtUkn4Q