Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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www.BLUEANDGOLD.com PRESEASON 2021 13 UNDER THE DOME CHARTING THE IRISH CONSENSUS TOP 10 There are plenty of college football programs that would take a pair of top-10 slots in any two sets of rankings and run with them. Notre Dame probably isn't one of them. Hold on. Relax. That doesn't mean Notre Dame doesn't belong in the top 10 of most college football polls and rankings. The Irish most certainly do. But what they've done in the last three seasons — reg- ister a 33-5 record with two College Football Playoff appearances — demands more. Notre Dame has earned the right to be seen as a perennial top-five team. Don't stop at the top 10. That's just what ESPN seemingly did, though, in the network's two most popular offseason college football rankings. First, ESPN released its preseason Football Power Index (FPI). Per ESPN, the FPI is "a measure of team strength that is meant to be the best predictor of a team's performance going forward for the rest of the season." Each team is assigned a number. That number indicates how many points above average the team is. For example, the closest teams to average were No. 66 Toledo (0.3) and No. 67 Kansas State (-0.5). Notre Dame received a mark of 16.1, good for No. 8 nationally. ESPN later named Notre Dame No. 9 in its preseason power rank- ings, a much more subjective list determined in a vote by staff writers. It's not outlandish to suggest Notre Dame is going to take a step back from the 10-0 regular season it had last year. The Irish lost Ian Book, the program's all-time leader in wins by a starting quarterback, and there also is a drastic overhaul of the offensive line taking place. The defense has plenty of veterans to lead what could be a very stout unit, but there are enough question marks in the second- ary to wonder if Notre Dame could contain high-flying teams like Alabama and Ohio State. It all amounted to two low-end top-10 rankings for the Irish instead of top-five appearances like the program has become ac- customed to. — Tyler Horka ✦ GIMME FIVE There are few looks, if any, more recognizable in college football than Notre Dame's gold helmets. ESPN would certainly agree with that statement. The network released a top-five ranking of the best cur- rent uniforms in college football, and Notre Dame topped the list. "The first thing I did, I looked at the list and said, 'Tradi- tion definitely carried,'" ESPN analyst and former Georgia Bulldog David Pollack said. "Obviously, Notre Dame — the Golden Domers — it's iconic." Along with the likes of Alabama, Penn State, Texas and a few other big-name schools, Notre Dame has made very few alterations to its game-day look over the years. The gold helmet, a white or blue jersey and gold pants. That's what Notre Dame has donned for the better part of the 115-year history of the program, and that's what it will most likely continue to wear for as long as Touchdown Jesus oversees Fighting Irish football on Saturdays in South Bend. If it's not broken, don't fix it. ESPN's Top-Five College Football Uniforms 1. Notre Dame 2. Michigan 3. Penn State 4. USC 5. Oregon — Tyler Horka Notre Dame's gold helmets are an iconic look that help its uniforms stand out the most in college football. PHOTO COURTESY NOTRE DAME ATHLETICS ESPN FPI RANKINGS 1. Alabama (26.8) 2. Clemson (26.6) 3. Oklahoma (24.1) 4. Ohio State (22.5) 5. Georgia (19.2) 6. Texas A&M (18.5) 7. Texas (16.4) 8. Notre Dame (16.1) 9. Iowa State (15.5) 10. Miami (15.0) ESPN POWER RANKINGS 1. Alabama 2. Oklahoma 3. Clemson 4. Georgia 5. Ohio State 6. Texas A&M 7. Iowa State 8. Oregon 9. Notre Dame 10. North Carolina YOU DON'T WAIT FOR MAIL DELIVERY! HAVE TO The digital edition of Blue & Gold Illustrated is available Sundays at BlueGoldOnline.com The Blue & Gold Illustrated digital edition includes all the great content you find in your print edition, plus: ✦ Searchable archive ✦ Downloadable PDFs ✦ Available on computers and tablets Visit BlueGoldOnline.com for the latest issue every Sunday! It's already part of your subscription! PLUS: The Blue Gold Report Midweek Update! • Emailed Every Pre-Game Wednesday • Depth Charts And Rosters For Both Teams • Updated Statistics • Columns and Much More! • Can be viewed on your computer, phone or tablet, or printed out to read later. To receive notifications, please send your email address to: newsletter@blueandgold.com. Customer Service: 1-800-421-7751