Blue & Gold Illustrated: 2020 Notre Dame Football Preview
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8 ✦ BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED 2020 FOOTBALL PREVIEW The last time Notre Dame began a football season in the Associated Press top 10 and actually finished there was 1993. It was No. 7 in the preseason and ended up No. 2 despite defeating No. 1 Florida State 31-24 on Nov. 13. It came close last year, when the No. 9 preseason ranking was the highest start in the 10-year Brian Kelly era. The Fighting Irish finished No. 12 with an 11-2 mark. In the 26 football seasons from 1994-2019, Notre Dame was ranked 17 times in the AP preseason top 25. The lone year out of those 17 where it finished higher (No. 5) than where it started (No. 12) was 2018, when it advanced to the College Football Playoff. Conversely, in the nine other seasons the Fighting Irish were not ranked in the AP preseason top 25 from 1994-2017, they finished in the final rank- ings five times — including the top 10 in both 2012 (No. 4) and 2005 (No. 9). Those two seasons plus 2018 mark the last three times since 1994 Notre Dame concluded the cam- paign amongst the top 10. Here have been the preseason AP rankings in Kelly's previous 10 years: 2010 Preseason Ranking: None The Irish were 16-21 the three previous seasons under deposed head coach Charlie Weis. Finish: None (8-5) It was the first season ever Notre Dame won its final four games yet didn't finish ranked. 2011 Preseason Ranking: No. 16 Because of the 4-0 finish the season prior, Notre Dame was ranked in the AP preseason poll for the first time in five years. Finish: None (8-5) Notre Dame dropped out of the top 25 after the season-opening loss to South Florida and fell to 0-2 the next week at Michigan. It didn't return to the top 25 until the 11th week at 7-3, and climbed to No. 22 before losing to Stanford and then Florida State in the Champs Sports Bowl. 2012 Preseason Ranking: None After starting 11-0, Notre Dame on Nov. 18 was ranked No. 1 for the first time since Nov. 20, 1993, almost 19 years to the day. At 12-0, Notre Dame would finish the regular season at the top spot for the first time since winning its most recent national title in 1988. Finish: No. 4 (12-1) Following the 42-14 loss to Alabama in the BCS National Championship Game, the Irish still had their highest finish since No. 2 in 1993. This was one of only two years in 24 from 1994-2017 Notre Dame placed in the final AP top 10. The other was No. 9 in 2005. 2013 Preseason Ranking: No. 14 Based on the previous season, the Irish might have been in the top 10 had starting quarterback Everett Golson not been suspended from school in the fall semester because of an academic indiscretion. Finish: No. 20 (9-4) The Irish dropped out of the top 25 after falling to 3-2 with a home loss to Oklahoma. The Pinstripe Bowl win over Rutgers elevated them from No. 25 to No. 20. 2014 Preseason Ranking: No. 17 Notre Dame was attempting to finish in the final AP rankings three years in a row for the first time since achieving it seven straight from 1987-93. Finish: None (8-5) The Irish started 6-0, were No. 5 and appeared to have won at No. 2 Florida State — but lost on a controversial call in the closing seconds. They would finish the regular season falling in five of their last six contests before upsetting No. 22 LSU in the Music City Bowl. 2015 Preseason Ranking: No. 11 A College Football Playoff contender at 10-1 right into the final week of the regular season, Kelly's crew ended up finishing where they started. Finish: No. 11 (10-3) This was tied with 1995 and 2017 for the third-best placement over 24 years. 2016 Preseason Ranking: No. 10 The first time since the No. 2 rating in 2006 that Notre Dame began the season in the top 10. Finish: None (4-8) The implosion commenced with a 50-47 double- overtime defeat in Texas, which finished 6-7, in- cluded back-to-back home losses to 3-9 Michigan State and 4-8 Duke, and a setback versus Navy. 2017 Preseason Ranking: None Despite the 4-8 finish the year prior, the Irish were No. 28 in the preseason poll from the "also receiving votes" category. Finish: No. 11 (10-3) Notre Dame climbed as high as No. 3 in the CFP rankings with an 8-1 start. Road losses at Miami (41- 8) and Stanford (38-20) knocked the Irish out of the Big Six bowl picture, but the season was salvaged with a thrilling 21-17 Citrus Bowl victory on Jan. 1 versus LSU. 2018 Preseason Ranking: No. 12 The return of a veteran defense was expected to keep Notre Dame in the 10-3 range and offset personnel losses on offense that included top-10 selections Quenton Nelson and Mike McGlinchey along the line, top rusher Josh Adams, top receiver Equanimeous St. Brown — both of whom turned pro as juniors — and fourth-round tight end Dur- ham Smythe. Finish: No. 5 (12-1) Notre Dame and Fresno State were the only two teams in the Football Bowl Subdivision that did not surrender more than 27 points in a game during the regular season. Quarterback Ian Book took over as the starter in the fourth game to provide a more balanced offense and augment the running of Dexter Williams, who was suspended the first four games. It helped that "name" opponents such as Virginia Tech (6-7), Florida State (5-7) and USC (5-7) found themselves reeling this year. 2019 Preseason Ranking: No. 9 This was the loftiest AP preseason ranking for Notre Dame in Kelly's 10 seasons, and the highest overall since 2006, when it started No. 2 in head coach Charlie Weis' second year. Finish: No. 12 (11-2) A hard-fought 23-17 loss at No. 3 Georgia in game three dropped Notre Dame from No. 7 to 10. After climbing back to No. 8, the 45-14 fiasco at No. 16 Michigan moved the Irish down to 16. Despite ending the year with a six-game winning streak — the longest to close a season since seven in a row in 1992 — Notre Dame moved up merely four spots because only one came versus a ranked foe (No. 21 Navy). PRESEASON RANK & FILE UNDER THE DOME The lone year out of the 17 times since 1994 that Notre Dame began the season in the Associated Press poll and then finished higher was 2018, when Brian Kelly's Fighting Irish opened at No. 12 and concluded at No. 5. PHOTO BY PER KJELDSEN