Notre Dame did not play this week, but will they be able to move into the top 25 rankings in spite of that. Notre Dame was ranked number 30 in one poll and number 28 in another one. With number 20 Baylor being blown out by Texas A&M, Number 16 Illinois losing, Number 12 Georgia Tech losing and number 22 Texas losing, It looks like there is enough losses at the bottom of the polls to possibly let the Irish in the top 25 even though they did not play Saturday.
If they do not get in they still should be able get in next week with no doubt with a win over USC. This is a game that Notre Dame should primed and ready for. They are coming off of a big win over Air Force and they had a bye week. This team is well rested and starting to play some of the best football of its’ season.
They have cut down on the turnovers and have developed some consistency on offense. They also gave USC a few things to worry about. Sophomore Andrew Hendrix was brought in as a change of pace from Tommy Rees and looked very good against Air Force. He ran for 111 yards including a 78 yard run that was a thing of beauty and showed exactly how explosive the Brian Kelly offense can be when the QB can actually be a running threat.
Notre Dame also put Michael Floyd back to return punts. This is something that USC will have to at least acknowledge in its practices this week.
This will be the first night game at Notre dame Stadium in quite some time and the house will be rocking. Notre Dame is still in playoff mode as they have to win every game to keep its’ slim BCS hopes alive.
The first step could be gaining access to the top 25 in tomorrow’s BCS poll.