Loss to Marshall ends 80-week stay in AP rankings for Notre Dame football
Mike Berardino
SOUTH BEND — For the first time in nearly five full calendar years, Notre Dame football is unranked.
Saturday’s 26-21 home loss to Marshall brought an end to an 80-week run of Associated Press Top 25 appearances for the Irish (0-2). That streak, which dated to Sept. 17, 2017, had been the fourth-longest active streak.
Notre Dame, which also dropped out of the USA Today Coaches Poll, was ranked fifth in the AP preseason poll and dropped to No. 8 after losing 21-10 at heavily favored Ohio State on Sept. 3.
Analysis:'It's an upset; it happens' — Notre Dame falls to Marshall, and no one seems properly shocked
Marshall, one of three Sun Belt Conference teams to score road upsets of college football bluebloods on Saturday, was listed first among schools also receiving votes. Notre Dame plummeted to 36th by that measure, slotted between Washington State and Air Force.
Texas A&M, which was statistically dominated by Appalachian State in a 17-14 loss, dropped 18 spots to No. 24 in the AP poll. The Irish were outgained by just 13 yards by the Thundering Herd (2-0), but three interceptions, including one that was returned for a fourth-quarter touchdown, proved costly.
Notre Dame, which plays host to Cal (2-0) on Saturday for the first time in 55 years, still has three ranked foes on its remaining schedule: No. 5 Clemson, No. 7 USC and No. 12 BYU.
The Top Twenty Five
The Top 25 teams in The Associated Press college football poll, with first-place votes in parentheses, records through Sep. 10, total points based on 25 points for a first-place vote through one point for a 25th-place vote, and previous ranking:
| Record | Pts | Prv | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Georgia (53) | 2-0 | 1561 | 2 |
| 2. Alabama (9) | 2-0 | 1496 | 1 |
| 3. Ohio St. (1) | 2-0 | 1475 | 3 |
| 4. Michigan | 2-0 | 1359 | 4 |
| 5. Clemson | 2-0 | 1285 | 5 |
| 6. Oklahoma | 2-0 | 1209 | 7 |
| 7. Southern Cal | 2-0 | 1139 | 10 |
| 8. Oklahoma St. | 2-0 | 1004 | 11 |
| 9. Kentucky | 2-0 | 992 | 20 |
| 10. Arkansas | 2-0 | 938 | 16 |
| 11. Michigan St. | 2-0 | 902 | 14 |
| 12. BYU | 2-0 | 880 | 21 |
| 13. Miami | 2-0 | 772 | 15 |
| 14. Utah | 1-1 | 673 | 13 |
| 15. Tennessee | 2-0 | 658 | 24 |
| 16. NC State | 2-0 | 623 | 18 |
| 17. Baylor | 1-1 | 562 | 9 |
| 18. Florida | 1-1 | 484 | 12 |
| 19. Wake Forest | 2-0 | 449 | 23 |
| 20. Mississippi | 2-0 | 411 | 22 |
| 21. Texas | 1-1 | 276 | - |
| 22. Penn St. | 2-0 | 271 | - |
| 23. Pittsburgh | 1-1 | 160 | 17 |
| 24. Texas A&M | 1-1 | 145 | 6 |
| 25. Oregon | 1-1 | 89 | - |
Others receiving votes: Marshall 85, Appalachian St. 80, Cincinnati 80, Kansas St. 77, North Carolina 71, Mississippi St. 43, Oregon St. 42, Florida St. 42, Minnesota 37, Washington St. 30, Notre Dame 23, Air Force 19, Texas Tech 17, Wisconsin 7, Auburn 4, Iowa St. 4, Purdue 1.
Mike Berardino covers Notre Dame football for the South Bend Tribune and NDInsider.com. Follow him on Twitter @MikeBerardino and TikTok @mikeberardinoNDI.