Somehow Still Ranked: Notre Dame Holds Spot Despite 0–2 Start

The Texas A&M aftermath is coming in heavy for Marcus Freeman as Notre Dame tumbles down the USA Today Coaches Poll

Sep 13, 2025; South Bend, Indiana, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish head coach Marcus Freeman looks on as the team takes a knee for Notre Dame Fighting Irish tight end Eli Raridon (9) after an apparent injury against Texas A&M Aggies during the second half at Notre Dame Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images | Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images

Notre Dame is still reeling from the effects of having a 0-2 start to the season. The 41-40 loss at the hands of Texas A&M was a big setback for the Fighting Irish.

The burning questions from all directions and the almost crushed playoff hopes seem to be just the start. Embarrassing rankings are the next thing they will have to deal with.

Salt to the wound, their plummeting rankings might be slowly destroying expectations from Freeman's squad of ending a 37-year National Championship drought.

Notre Dame Drops to No. 21 is Coaches Poll

The Fighting Irish suffered a complete freefall in the US LBM Coaches Poll. Ranked No. 5 at the beginning of the season, they now sit at No. 21. It was a steep 13-point drop from their previous week's ranking at No. 8; the largest single-week drop for any Top 10 team in Week 4.

Missouri, Vanderbilt, South Carolina, and Auburn follow Notre Dame subsequently. Texas A&M, on the other hand, which was previously at No. 17, is now No. 10.

Another week of wild finishes and a few surprises shuffled the US LBM Coaches Poll.

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AP Top 25 was worse, as the Fighting Irish found themselves at No. 24, barely hanging in there.

Notre Dame getting a spot with a 0-2 start is the shocking part, as they just broke a 37-year-long historic streak. No team with a 0-2 start has reserved a spot in the AP Top 25 since 1988.

Marcus Freeman has a Plan for Bouncing Back

Freeman has a history of losses in the first three weeks with Notre Dame, but nothing he hasn't recovered from. Northern Illinois upset the Irish in 2024's second game, but Freeman's squad came back stronger in their Week 3 game against Purdue.

Freeman gave his team a breather with a Week 2 bye. It also gave them the space to plan a strategy to bag a must-win against the Aggies. It failed stunningly.

Yet, Freeman argued that dwelling on past losses won't get them anywhere. Instead, he pointed out the fixes they need to make in their pass-rushing.

"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," he said. "You gotta go to work and practice and get better."

"How do we evaluate what we're doing, why things are and aren't working, and how do we attack them and get better? So we're 0-2, lost to two good opponents. We're guaranteed 12, that's what we always say. We've got the next one coming up soon."

They host a 2-1 Purdue on Saturday. Losing it would mean Notre Dame's start to 2025 has gone from bad to flat-out embarrassing, as Notre Dame is nearly a four-touchdown favorite.