Notre Dame matches Kelly Era high at No. 9 in preseason coaches poll
SOUTH BEND — Notre Dame football begins its 2019 journey matching the highest preseason poll position in the Amway coaches poll during head coach Brian Kelly’s 10 seasons at ND.
The ninth-ranked Irish, who open the season Sept. 2 at unranked Louisville, face three teams in the inaugural coaches poll of 2019 — No. 3 Georgia, No. 7 Michigan and No. 23 Stanford — all on the road.
Five other Irish opponents garnered votes — Virginia Tech, USC, Virginia, Duke and Boston College. The Associated Press writers preseason poll comes out Aug. 19 at noon EDT.
Defending national champion Clemson and runner-up Alabama went 1-2 in the coaches poll. The Tigers garnered 59 of the 65 first-place votes, with Alabama collecting the other six.
Florida finished a mere three poll points ahead of the Irish (1,103 to 1,100), at No. 8.
Kelly is not a member of the 65-man panel of voters, having given up his ballot after the 2016 season to rid himself of that time commitment. The Irish finished 4-8 that year.
That’s also the season Notre Dame was ranked No. 9 in the preseason coaches poll, establishing a Kelly Era high. The last time ND began the season ranked higher than ninth was 2006, when Charlie Weis’ second Irish team was the preseason No. 3 team in the coaches poll.
The Irish were No. 11 in the 2018 preseason coaches poll and finished No. 5 in both polls after a 30-3 loss to Clemson, Dec. 29 in a College Football Playoff semifinal.
Kelly meets with the media en masse Friday for the first time since mid-April. The Irish open training camp off campus Sunday in Culver, Ind.
AMWAY COACHES PRESEASON POLL
| 1 | Clemson | 0-0 | 1619 | 59 | 1 | — | 1/1 |
| 2 | Alabama | 0-0 | 1566 | 6 | 2 | — | 2/2 |
| 3 | Georgia | 0-0 | 1447 | 0 | 3 | — | 3/3 |
| 4 | Oklahoma | 0-0 | 1415 | 0 | 4 | — | 4/4 |
| 5 | Ohio State | 0-0 | 1368 | 0 | 5 | — | 5/5 |
| 6 | Louisiana State | 0-0 | 1218 | 0 | 6 | — | 6/6 |
| 7 | Michigan | 0-0 | 1155 | 0 | 7 | — | 7/7 |
| 8 | Florida | 0-0 | 1103 | 0 | 8 | — | 8/8 |
| 9 | Notre Dame | 0-0 | 1100 | 0 | 9 | — | 9/9 |
| 10 | Texas | 0-0 | 1038 | 0 | 10 | — | 10/10 |
| 11 | Texas A&M | 0-0 | 893 | 0 | 11 | — | 11/11 |
| 12 | Washington | 0-0 | 834 | 0 | 12 | — | 12/12 |
| 13 | Oregon | 0-0 | 787 | 0 | 13 | — | 13/13 |
| 14 | Penn State | 0-0 | 699 | 0 | 14 | — | 14/14 |
| 15 | Utah | 0-0 | 642 | 0 | 15 | — | 15/15 |
| 16 | Auburn | 0-0 | 606 | 0 | 16 | — | 16/16 |
| 17 | Wisconsin | 0-0 | 436 | 0 | 17 | — | 17/17 |
| 17 | Central Florida | 0-0 | 436 | 0 | 17 | — | 17/17 |
| 19 | Iowa | 0-0 | 343 | 0 | 19 | — | 19/19 |
| 20 | Michigan State | 0-0 | 313 | 0 | 20 | — | 20/20 |
| 21 | Washington State | 0-0 | 274 | 0 | 21 | — | 21/21 |
| 22 | Syracuse | 0-0 | 227 | 0 | 22 | — | 22/22 |
| 23 | Stanford | 0-0 | 200 | 0 | 23 | — | 23/23 |
| 24 | Iowa State | 0-0 | 169 | 0 | 24 | — | 24/24 |
| 25 | Northwestern | 0-0 | 161 | 0 | 25 | — | 25/25 |
