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Week 11 Top 25
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Quick Hitter
Despite being down captains Drew White, MTA, Kyle Hamilton, and Avery Davis (while a large portion of the team dealt with the flu) the Notre Dame Fighting Irish dominated the Virginia Cavaliers from start to finish. They moved up to #6 in the AP Top 25 and the Coaches Poll. While the Irish are certainly heading towards a New Years 6 berth.....the playoffs are suddenly seeming in reach. This sentiment has been swirling around twitter all day and debates are starting to start on whether fans would rather be in NY6 or CFP..... Playoffs > Not Playoffs every time.
The argument of “Notre Dame would get embarrassed in CFP” is so dumb. It doesn’t matter. It’s a huge recruiting pitch. “We are good enough to make it but are missing a critical piece to win it”. Is better than “we beat X team in NY6”
— Philip G OFD (@Philip__G) November 14, 2021
As you can tell, I am STRONGLY in the camp that they should always compete for the National Championship if they have the opportunity, and it’s not a debate. There is so much more football to be played before we get to that point, but the door is cracking more and more open each week.
Notre Dame Opponent Rankings Quick Hits
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- Cincinnati Bearcats: Dropped to #3/#3. Yet again, the Bearcats didn’t do much to help their case to be a playoff team. They are playing below average competition and not blowing them out. I still think they will make the playoffs if they win out, but it will be by the skin of their teeth at this point.
- Purdue Boilermakers: They fought valiantly in the second half, but Ohio State was way too much for the Boilermakers to handle this weekend. Purdue is a solid win for Notre Dame, but won’t see the top 25 again this year.
- Wisconsin Badgers: #20/#19. The Badgers just keep winning. They are in the drivers seat in the Big 10 West, and could help ND out in a HUGE way if they somehow manage to win the Big 10 Championship. Their offense seems to have found an identity and the defense is still elite. I don’t think they touch OSU, but stranger this have happened.