Notre Dame Football and the AP Poll: A History of Preseason Rankings

How Notre Dame has fared in the versus its preseason AP Poll ranking the last 75 years

Apr 12, 2025; Notre Dame, IN, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish head coach Marcus Freeman waits to run onto the field during the Blue-Gold game at Notre Dame Stadium. | Michael Caterina-Imagn Images

Notre Dame found out Tuesday that it will start the 2025 season as the No. 6-ranked team in the country according to the AP Poll. Whether or not that is disrespectful is up for debate, and we'll soon know if that ends up being the case.

2025 is the 76th year of the AP Poll, something Notre Dame has been ranked to start the year in 62 of 76 all-time initial AP Polls. Nine of those unranked beginnings have come since 2000 (the last in 2017), while Lou Holtz's first season in 1986 was the first time Notre Dame began unranked since a four-year run doing so from 1961-64.

Notre Dame Football: Preseason vs. End of Season Rankings

1950s:

Oct 11, 2014; South Bend, IN, USA; A general view of the golden dome at the University of Notre Dame before the game between the Notre Dame Fighting Irish and the North Carolina Tar Heels at Notre Dame Stadium. | Matt Cashore-Imagn Images

1950: Started 1, finished unranked
1951: Started 14, finished unranked
1952: Started 10, finished 3
1953: Started 1, finished 2
1954: Started 1, finished 4
1955: Started 6, finished 9
1956: Started 3, finished unranked
1957: Started 18, finished 10
1958: Started 3, finished 17
1959: Started 16, finished 17

1960s:

Nov 19, 1966; East Lansing, MI, USA: FILE PHOTO; Notre Dame Irish linebacker (61) Jim Lynch in the defensive huddle against the Michigan State Spartans. Notre Dame and Michigan State played to a tie 10-10 at Spartans Stadium. | Malcolm Emmons-Imagn Images

1960: Started 17, finished unranked
1961: Started unranked, finished unranked
1962: Started unranked, finished unranked
1963: Started unranked, finished unranked
1964: Started unranked, finished 3
1965: Started 3, finished 9
1966: Started 6, finished 1
1967: Started 1, finished 5
1968: Started 3, finished 5
1969: Started 11, finished 5

1970s:

Sep 1971, South Bend, IN, USA; FILE PHOTO; Notre Dame Fighting Irish head coach Ara Parseghian and his team take the field at Notre Dame Stadium during the 1971 season. | Malcolm Emmons-Imagn Images

1970: Started 6, finished 2
1971: Started 1, finished 13
1972: Started 13, finished 14
1973: Started 8, finished 1
1974: Started 3, finished 6
1975: Started 10, finished unranked
1976: Started 11, finished 12
1977: Started 3, finished 1
1978: Started 5, finished 7
1979: Started 9, finished unranked

1980s:

Jan 1, 1990; Miami, FL, USA; FILE PHOTO; Notre Dame Irish head coach Lou Holtz is carried off the field following their victory over Colorado in the 1990 Orange Bowl | RVR Photos-Imagn Images

1980: Started 11, finished 9
1981: Started 3, finished unranked
1982: Started 18, finished unranked
1983: Started 6, finished unranked
1984: Started 8, finished unranked
1985: Started 14, finished unranked
1986: Started unranked, finished unranked
1987: Started 18th, finished 17th
1988: Started 13, finished 1
1989: Started 2, finished 2

1990s:

Oct 21, 1995; South Bend, IN, USA; FILE PHOTO; Notre Dame head coach Lou Holtz addresses his team in the locker room post game after playing Southern California Trojans at Notre Dame Stadium. | RVR Photos-Imagn Images

1990: Started 2, finished 6
1991: Started 6, finished 13
1992: Started 3, finished 4
1993: Started 7, finished 2
1994: Started 2, finished unranked
1995: Started 9, finished 11
1996: Started 6, finished 19
1997: Started 11, finished unranked
1998: Started 22, finished 22
1999: Started 18, finished unranked

2000s:

Nov. 5, 2005; South Bend, IN, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish head coach Charlie Weis talks with quarterback (10) Brady Quinn in the third quarter. Notre Dame defeated the University of Tennessee Volunteers 41-21. | Matt Cashore-Imagn Images

2000: Started unranked, finished 15
2001: Started 18, finished unranked
2002: Started unranked, finished 17
2003: Started 20, finished unranked
2004: Started unranked, finished unranked
2005: Started unranked, finished 9
2006: Started 2, finished 17
2007: Started unranked, finished unranked
2008: Started unranked, finished unranked
2009: Started 23, finished unranked

2010s:

November 24, 2012; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish head coach Brian Kelly leads the team out the field before playing against the Southern California Trojans at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. | Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images

2010: Started unranked, finished unranked
2011: Started 16, finished unranked
2012: Started unranked, finished 4
2013: Started 14, finished 20
2014: Started 17, finished unranked
2015: Started 11, finished 11
2016: Started 10, finished unranked
2017: Started unranked, finished 11
2018: Started 12, finished 5
2019: Started 9, finished 12

2020s:

(EDITORS NOTE: caption correction) Jan 9, 2025; Miami, FL, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish head coach Marcus Freeman and quarterback Riley Leonard (13) celebrates defeating the Penn State Nittany Lions in the Orange Bowl at Hard Rock Stadium. | Sam Navarro-Imagn Images

2020: Started 10, finished 5
2021: Started 9, finished 8
2022: Started 5, finished 8
2023: Started 13, finished 14
2024: Started 7, finished 2
2025: Stared 6, finish TBD