Notre Dame won a very important game against SEC foe Arkansas on Saturday. In the process, they scored a few style points for their 56-13 dominating performance on the road.
In response, Notre Dame moved up to 21st nationally in both the AP and Coaches poll this week.
Very similar to last year, when Notre Dame dropped as low as 18th in the AP Poll following their loss to Northern Illinois and still qualified for the inaugural 12-team College Football Playoff, they are hoping for a similar rise to relevancy this year.
However, it will be much more difficult this year, as they have already suffered two losses, compared to just the single NIU loss last year.