Notre Dame football ranked No. 12 in preseason AP poll

The preseason AP poll has served as a bit of a jinx for Notre Dame football since Lou Holtz left the Irish following the 1996 season.

On Monday, the annual poll conducted by the Associated Press slated Notre Dame as the No. 12 team in the country heading into the 2018 season.

The last 12 times the preseason top 25 has included the Irish, Notre Dame has failed to finish the season ranked higher than its preseason placement. Eight of those times Notre Dame finished its season outside the top 25.

Last season, the Irish went from unranked in the preseason AP poll to No. 11 following a 10-3 slate. The last time Notre Dame was ranked in the preseason top 25, Notre Dame finished 4-8 after starting the 2016 season at No. 10, the highest preseason ranking of the Brian Kelly era.

If the Irish are going to break the trend in 2018, Notre Dame will have to fare well against a schedule that includes five preseason-ranked teams: No. 13 Stanford, No. 14 Michigan, No. 15 USC, No. 19 Florida State and No. 20 Virginia Tech.

The preseason Amway Coaches Poll, released on Aug. 2, ranked Notre Dame at No. 11.

Notre Dame opens its season Sept. 1 at home against Michigan.

Preseason AP top 25

1. Alabama

(42 first place votes)

2. Clemson (18)

3. Georgia

4. Wisconsin (1)

5. Ohio State

6. Washington

7. Oklahoma

8. Miami

9. Auburn

10. Penn State

11. MichiganState

12. Notre Dame

13. Stanford

14. Michigan

15. USC

16. TCU

17. West Virginia

18. Mississippi

State

19. Florida

State

20. Virginia

Tech

21. UCF

22. Boise State

23. Texas

24. Oregon

25. LSU