ACC Football Power Rankings, Week 6: Clemson shines, Pitt plummets

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March 5, 2020; South Bend, IN, USA; Notre Dame held their first spring football practice at the Irish Athletics Center. Mandatory Credit: Santiago Flores/South Bend Tribune via USA TODAY NETWORK /

3. Notre Dame Fighting Irish (2-0, 1-0)

Much like the North Carolin Tar Heels and Hokies, the Notre Dame Fighting Irish had a significant gap in its games due to COVID-19. After their 52-0 route of South Florida, Notre Dame was supposed to play Wake Forest. Their game against the Demon Deacons was postponed and rescheduled for December.

Kelly and the Irish were excited about this season. This is the year the Irish change the narrative about who they are as a program. Brian Kelly has raised the floor in South Bend. In a normal year, nine wins should be the bottom for Notre Dame now. As Florida head coach Dan Mullen once said, it’s getting from nine to eleven wins that is the challenge. That is Notre Dame’s challenge.

One of the more encouraging signs for Irish fans is the young talent taking snaps aways from veteran players. Starting running back Kyren Williams is a red shirt freshman. True freshman running back Chris Tyree is seeing snaps and contributing on special teams. Defensively, redshirt freshman defensive end Isaiah Foskey has seen significant time.

All of that sounds great. The only question that exists in the college football universe is, “Can Notre Dame defeat Clemson?” The short answer is no and that is primarily because Notre Dame has been out of the public eye for nearly a month. Making a statement against Florida Sate this weekend should remind everyone who the Irish are.

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