SOUTH BEND — Further context regarding the preseason perception of Notre Dame football arrived Monday with the Irish ranking seventh in the first Associated Press Top 25 poll of the 2024 campaign.
This is the highest ranking to start a season for the Irish since 2022, when they opened at No. 5 but dropped out after an 0-2 start. Notre Dame recovered well enough in Marcus Freeman’s first full season to finish with a 9-4 record and a No. 18 AP ranking.
Notre Dame has now opened with a Top 10 ranking in the AP poll in five of the past six seasons. The exception was 2023, when they started out at No. 13 and finished at No. 14 with a 10-3 record and a Sun Bowl win over Oregon State.
The Irish also ranked seventh in the preseason US LBM Coaches Poll that was released on Aug. 5. Texas A&M, which welcomes Notre Dame under the lights at Kyle Field in the season opener on Aug. 31, came in at No. 20 for both the coaches and the media.
A 55-member voting board of FBS-level head coaches conducts the US LBM poll.
Coaches poll Where Notre Dame football landed in preseason US LBM coaches poll
The Aggies were unranked at 7-6 to end last year and have since hired former Duke coach Mike Elko to replace the fired Jimbo Fisher. Elko was the defensive coordinator at Notre Dame in 2017 before leaving for the same role at A&M from 2018-21.
Just two other opponents on Notre Dame’s 2024 schedule are ranked in the AP poll: 10th-ranked Florida State (13-1 last season) will visit Notre Dame Stadium on Nov. 9 and 23rd-ranked USC (8-5 a year ago) will play host to the Irish on Nov. 30.
Notre Dame football ranked seventh in the US LBM coaches poll as well
In addition, Louisville was listed first among other programs receiving votes. The Cardinals visit Notre Dame on Sept. 28.
This is the first year of an expanded 12-team College Football Playoff. Notre Dame reached the previous four-team incarnation on two occasions (2018 and 2020), losing in the semifinal round both times.
The date of the first CFP committee ranking has yet to be announced, but last year’s ranking debuted on Oct. 31.
The last time Notre Dame opened and closed the year in the top 10 of the media poll was 2021, when Brian Kelly’s 12th and final Irish team went 11-2. Notre Dame started at No. 9 and finished at No. 8 after a Fiesta Bowl loss to Oklahoma State, with Freeman coaching that bowl game after Kelly left for LSU.
Mike Berardino covers Notre Dame football for the South Bend Tribune and NDInsider.com.
This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: Where did Notre Dame football rank in the Associated Press preseason poll
