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The Notre Dame Fighting Irish will start the 2019 season ranked #9 in the USA Today Coaches poll. The poll was released on Thursday, and the rankings weren’t surprising given the many weeks of talk leading up to now.
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The top 10 consists of two future Notre Dame opponents with the Georgia Bulldogs at #3 and the Michigan Wolverines at #7. Only one other Irish opponent opens the season ranked in this poll and that’s the Stanford Cardinal at #23.
Clemson will pick up where it left off ... on the top of the Amway Coaches Poll rankings. @AmwayUS @WeAreAFCA https://t.co/Tmw6E46uKN pic.twitter.com/BfYfpiccKa
— USA TODAY Sports (@usatodaysports) August 1, 2019
Obviously Notre Dame fans are going to feel burnt with Michigan ranked ahead of them to start the season — because it’s nonsense. The Irish got screwed by pollsters last year in the final rankings of the AP poll when many voters casted their ballots from 3-25 before the championship game between the Alabama Crimson Tide and Clemson Tigers was played. Notre Dame ended a playoff year with the #5 ranking.
Keep in mind that this is really the SID poll, and votes are cast with college football politics in mind. The AP Poll comes out on August 19th.
You can voice your opinion on this whole matter a different way if you sign up for SB Nation’s FanPulse. You vote for the top 25 each week, and we tally up the votes from around the entire SB Nation network, and puts some graphic shine on it for you. You can use the link below to sign up!