We are almost to the halfway point in the college football season and the AP Poll has once again been shaken up due to another crazy week.
Week 5 really helped clear up the landscape in terms of who seems to be playoff bound and who is struggling to stay relevant. We saw many teams fall out of the rankings and many make new appearances in the rankings.
Some only moved up or down a couple spots, some moved around in a big way. We are here to talk about those big time moves, both in the negative and positive direction.
For that, we start with the Notre Dame Fighting Irish.
Winner: Notre Dame Fighting Irish (No. 8 up to No. 6)
The Irish moved up two spots to No. 6 this week after taking down then No. 7 Stanford. We will discuss the Cardinals in a minute, but right now we are talking about the victors. The Irish are having a season that has shocked the nation and that is putting it mildly. I’m still not on the Notre Dame hype train because the Irish haven’t been exactly reliable in recent years.
However, this season may be different. Brian Kelly and the Irish are having quite the year and have become a black horse contender for the playoff. Of course, to get past Ohio State or Clemson to get into that top four. Getting past LSU is another issue as well, but the Tigers have to face off against Alabama and Georgia, who are both sitting in the top four.
Can Notre Dame make the playoff? A 12-0 season would probably do it. We shall see where this team ends up though by the time everything is said and done.