College Football Rankings 2020: Projected AP Top 25 final rankings
By Zach Bigalke
6. Pick Analysis. 10-1. lost 31-14 vs. No. 1 Alabama (CFP semifinal in Arlington). Scouting Report. Notre Dame Fighting Irish. player. 819
On one hand, Notre Dame’s 31-14 loss to Alabama in the College Football Playoff semifinal at AT&T Stadium in Arlington was a predictable collapse that exposed the gulf between the Fighting Irish and the Crimson Tide juggernaut. On the other hand, Notre Dame covered an 18.5-point spread against the Tide. It was hardly an impressive way to finish 2020, and it will result in dropping a few spots in the final AP Top 25 of the season.
Ian Book threw for only 229 yards with no touchdowns on 27-of-39 passing, and he tossed an interception on Notre Dame’s first drive of the second half to kill any chance of getting back in the game. Book ran for 55 yards and a touchdown, and Kyren Williams added 64 yards and a rushing score, but it wasn’t nearly enough against an Alabama offense that racked up 437 yards on only 55 offensive plays.
After winning their first 10 games of the season, Notre Dame dropped their final two high-stakes encounters by a combined 41 points. That is going to result in a drop out of the top five in the final AP Top 25, but not enough of a stumble that they collapse completely of the top 10. In their one-year experiment with conference play, the Irish failed to come away with any hardware but still reached double digits in the win column for the fourth straight year.