It wasn't always pretty, but Notre Dame survived a weekend full of upsets with its 25-10 road win over Boston College. The win combined with those upsets moved the Fighting Irish up to No. 10 in this week's Coaches Poll.
It's Notre Dame's first time back in the Top 10 since week two, when the Irish ranked No. 8. They fell all the way to No. 21 after suffering a 41-40 loss to Texas A&M, but Notre Dame has been steadily climbing up the rankings ever since. Notre Dame ranked No. 12 last week, but are now back in the Top 10 after several weeks of upsets.
That is the key this time of the year, avoid the upsets. Notre Dame will need to win more impressively in coming games, but avoiding the upsets is crucial as we get into the College Football Playoff rankings, which come out on Tuesday.
Notre Dame jumped ahead of Miami, Vanderbilt and Georgia Tech, who both suffered losses this past weekend. Vanderbilt lost 34-31 to Texas on Saturday while the Yellow Jackets lost 48-36 at NC State, a team that Notre Dame beat 36-7 three weeks ago. Miami went on the road and lost to unranked SMU (26-20) in overtime. That dropped the Hurricanes down to No. 18, despite having the same record as the Irish.
Notre Dame was passed up by Texas Tech, who went on the road and dominated Kansas State by a 43-20 score, which vaulted the Red Raiders up to No. 9.
USC - who Notre Dame beat before the most recent bye week - climbed up to No. 21 after its road win at Nebraska. The Irish face Navy and Pitt in their next two games, and while neither is ranked, both are receiving votes in the most recent Coach's Poll. Navy was previously ranked No. 23 in the Coach's Poll but fell out after their loss to North Texas. Texas A&M was on a bye this weekend and they remain ranked No. 3.
Complete Coach's Poll rankings:
1. Ohio State Buckeyes (8-0)
2. Indiana Hoosiers (9-0)
3. Texas A&M Aggies (8-0)
4. Alabama Crimson Tide (7-1)
5. Georgia Bulldogs (7-1)
6. Oregon Ducks (7-1)
7. Ole Miss Rebels (8-1)
8. BYU Cougars (8-0)
9. Texas Tech Red Raiders (8-1)
10. Notre Dame Fighting Irish (6-2)
11. Virginia Cavaliers (8-1)
12. Oklahoma Sooners (7-2)
13. Texas Longhorns (7-2)
14. Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (8-1)
15. Louisville Cardinals (7-1)
16. Vanderbilt Commodores (7-2)
17. Missouri Tigers (6-2)
18. Miami Hurricanes (6-2)
19. Utah Utes (7-2)
20. Michigan Wolverines (7-2)
21. USC Trojans (6-2)
22. Tennessee Volunteers (6-3)
23. Memphis Tigers (8-1)
24. Iowa Hawkeyes (6-2)
25. Cincinnati Bearcats (7-2)
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