Notre Dame is back in the top 10 of the AP Poll this week

The Notre Dame Fighting Irish came into this week off a huge loss to the Ohio State Buckeyes. Obviously, that was a huge matchup that came down to the wire and Notre Dame finished on the wrong side of it.

They needed to avoid allowing that game to derail their season. It is always hard for them to be a playoff team when they have a loss but it is borderline impossible when they have two. They needed to get a win this weekend in order to keep their season going strong.

They took on the Duke Blue Devils who came into the game at 4-0. They were the #17 team in the country too which is very nice for Duke who is known for being a basketball powerhouse. This wasn’t a game that looked all that special before the season began but clearly, things change.

This game was, as expected, a very difficult one for the Irish. They had a lead for most of it but then allowed Duke to take the lead away pretty late in the game. Thankfully, they ended up scoring again to take the lead. They ended up winning the football game by a final score of 21-14.

The Notre Dame Fighting Irish pulled out a big win on Saturday night.

Quarterback Sam Hartman didn’t have the best game of the year so far as he only went 15/30 but he did have 222 passing yards so he moved the ball enough to win. Thanks to some help from running back Audric Estime, they were able to score some points on the ground which was needed.

Now, Notre Dame is 5-1. Everyone knows that they should be 6-0 but they really let one game slip away. They would need some help if they wanted to make the College Football Playoff but it is absolutely possible. They must take it one game at a time.

The AP Poll came out on Sunday and it was good news for Notre Dame. They are back in the top 10 after slipping out last week. They are right there at 10 which is not a bad place to be at this point of the season. Notre Dame is the only team in the top 10 that has a loss.

The Ohio State  Buckeyes, the team that beat Notre Dame, is 4 in the ranking once again. Duke, the team they just beat, is 19 after being 17 last week. It will be interesting to see what becomes of these teams as we hit the middle of the season.

Speaking of ranked teams, their next two opponents are also ranked which makes it four straight games against ranked opponents. Number 25 Louisville will host Notre Dame next week and number 9 USC will face them the week after.

Clemson is unranked but still is a school with a championship pedigree and they will matchup two weeks after that USC game as well. It is a tough stretch of games but winning them could help the Irish make a run.

This is the type of gutsy win that Notre Dame needs to rally around. Forget about the loss and just worry about the next opponent. If they do that, more winning of big games will come.