Dominant road win propels Notre Dame to eighth consecutive victory, solidifying their No. 9 AP ranking despite surrounding chaos.
Notre Dame stayed put in the latest Associated Press Top 25 rankings as the Irish earned an eighth straight win. Notre Dame went on the road and pounded the Pitt Panthers by a 37-15 margin. The Irish led 37-9 before Pitt scored on the final play of the game. Notre Dame's convincing victory knocked Pitt out of the Top 25.
Notre Dame had yet another dominant performance this weekend, not only winning their eighth straight game, but earning their eighth straight win by double digits. Notre Dame has won its last eight games by an average margin of 25.6 points per game. The Irish have a chance to build on that over the next two weeks when they take on a pair of struggling 3-7 teams. The Irish host Syracuse this weekend for its final home game of the season and then travel out to California to take on Stanford in the regular season finale.
There was some question about whether or not Notre Dame would fall in the rankings despite its big win. The reason was Oklahoma, who ranked behind the Irish last weekend, went on the road and beat previously 4th-ranked Alabama. The thinking being that not only does Oklahoma jump Notre Dame, but the Crimson Tide remain ahead of them as well. We'll find out what the College Football Playoff committee does with this on Tuesday night, but the AP and Coaches Polls both dropped Alabama down to No. 10.
Alabama's loss at home to a Top 10 Oklahoma team isn't a bad loss, but it continues a trend of them not playing well in recent weeks. Alabama had an ugly 20-9 win over LSU last weekend and needed a final minute comeback to beat 3-7 South Carolina the week before that.
Notre Dame's only ranked win right now is USC, who moved up a spot to No. 16 after its come-from-behind win over Iowa this weekend. The Trojans are now 3-0 since their 34-24 loss to Notre Dame. Navy - who the Irish knocked out of the Top 25 with a 49-10 win last weekend - did move up this week as well. They are now the top vote getter in the "Others Receiving Votes" category of both the AP and Coaches Top 25 rankings.
Here is the complete AP Top 25.
1. Ohio State Buckeyes (10-0)
2. Indiana Hoosiers (11-0)
3. Texas A&M Aggies (10-0)
4. Georgia Bulldogs (9-1)
5. Ole Miss Rebels (10-1)
6. Texas Tech Red Raiders (10-1)
7. Oregon Ducks (9-1)
8. Oklahoma Sooners (8-2)
9. Notre Dame Fighting Irish (8-2)
10. Alabama Crimson Tide (8-2)
11. BYU Cougars (9-1)
12. Vanderbilt Commodores (8-2)
13. Utah Utes (8-2)
14. Miami Hurricanes (8-2)
15. Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (9-1)
16. USC Trojans (8-2)
17. Texas Longhorns (7-3)
18. Michigan Wolverines (8-2)
19. Virginia Cavaliers (9-2)
20. Tennessee Volunteers (7-3)
21. James Madison Dukes (9-1)
22. North Texas Mean Green (9-1)
23. Missouri Tigers (7-3)
24. Tulane Green Wave (8-2)
25. Houston Cougars (8-2)
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