Notre Dame Football: Irish rank #12 in preliminary S&P+ rankings for 2019

Bill Connelly released his preliminary S&P+ rankings for 2019 on Monday, and the Notre Dame Fighting Irish come in at #12 overall. It’s hard (some say just about impossible) to really rank a preseason top 25 in February (let alone 130 teams) but Connelly’s rankings have proved to be a good indicator over the years.

Here’s how the Irish rank against its 2019 opponents:

1. Georgia Bulldogs (2) 30.7
2. Michigan Wolverines (9) 21.6
3. Notre Dame (12) 19.1
4. USC Trojans (29) 10.7
5. Virginia Tech Hokies (30) 10.6
6. Stanford Cardinal (32) 10.0
7. Virginia Cavaliers (41) 7.9
8. Duke Blue Devils (69) 2.9
9. Boston College Eagles (77) 0.7
10. Louisville Cardinals (87) -2.7
11. New Mexico Lobos (115) -15.3
12. Navy Midshipmen (118) -16.3
13. Bowling Green Falcons (123) -19.4

A crude way to look at this is that the Irish are currently projected to go 10-2 on the year. Make of it what you will.