Notre Dame football is in free fall in the rankings. The Fighting Irish dropped 16 spots in the latest Associated Press college football poll, to no. 24. The squad has yet to win a game this season, after dropping a game Saturday to Texas A&M.
The Fighting Irish had a fourth-quarter lead against the Aggies, but couldn't make the plays needed to win the contest. Texas A&M defeated Notre Dame in South Bend, 41-40.
Notre Dame struggled on defense for the second consecutive game. The Fighting Irish allowed 488 total yards of offense to the Aggies. Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman was disappointed in his team's performance.
“You’ve got to go to work and practice and get better,” Freeman said, per the Associated Press. “We’re 0-2. So what do you control? You control getting better and getting ready for the next one. I can’t sit here and dwell on being 0-2 as much as I need to dwell on how do we find ways to improve.”
Notre Dame's first loss was against Miami. The squad's chances of making the College Football Playoff this season are now in dangerous jeopardy.
Notre Dame has to win every game left on the schedule
Notre Dame is fortunate to still be ranked, due to their 0-2 record. The Fighting Irish have a lot of supporters this season. One is legendary coach Nick Saban, who believed Notre Dame would win every game after the Miami loss.
Saban was incorrect in his prediction. The Fighting Irish now have no choice but to win out, if they want to make the CFP. It won't be easy though. Notre Dame still has games against several ACC teams, as well as Arkansas from the SEC. Long-time rival USC also looms in the weeks ahead.
Coach Freeman says his team has to learn from the setbacks.
“We didn't play well enough — I thought the second half we came out and played better. We started the second half better, but I put them in a bad situation,” Freeman said, per Sports Illustrated.
Notre Dame struggled mightily in the first half of the Texas A&M game. The Fighting Irish allowed 21 points in the second quarter alone.
“I don’t know that anything went to script in terms of how you want to go about winning a game on the road,” said Texas A&M coach Mike Elko. “We just kept fighting, kept battling, kept scrapping. Ultimately, we made one more play than they did.”
Notre Dame football next plays Purdue on Saturday.
