Notre Dame Holds at No. 3, Gains a First-Place Vote in Coaches Poll

Notre Dame stayed at No. 3 in the Week 4 US LBM Coaches Poll after beating Purdue, adding a first-place vote while Texas and Georgia kept the top two spots.

Notre Dame held its position at No. 3 in the updated US LBM Coaches Poll following Week 4 of the college football season. The Fighting Irish came into the weekend at No. 3 and kept that spot after moving to 4-0 with a win over Purdue on Saturday. The victory brought one additional first-place vote, lifting Notre Dame's total to three.

The order at the top did not change. Texas remained No. 1 at 4-0 and continues to control the voting with 45 first-place votes. Georgia held No. 2 at 4-0 with 17 first-place votes, leaving Notre Dame well behind the top two in that count.

Just below the Irish, Miami rose one spot to No. 4 and Indiana slipped one place to No. 5. Every team in the top five is 4-0. Indiana carries eight first-place votes of its own, more than any team besides Texas and Georgia.

The week's biggest shakeup came from a top-25 matchup between Florida and Ole Miss. The Gators won to stay unbeaten and jumped from No. 22 to No. 8, a 14-spot rise that was the largest of the week. The loss sent the Rebels from No. 6 down to No. 12, the biggest drop within the top 10.

Elsewhere in the top 10, Ohio State edged up from No. 7 to No. 6 at 3-1, and Alabama climbed one place to No. 7 with a 4-0 record. BYU (3-0) and Texas Tech (4-0) held their positions at No. 9 and No. 10, while LSU stayed at No. 11 at 3-1.

The middle of the poll featured several slides. USC fell from No. 12 to No. 18 after its record dropped to 4-1, Tennessee dropped from No. 13 to No. 17, and Penn State slid from No. 14 to No. 22 at 3-1. Moving the other way were unbeaten Utah, up from No. 15 to No. 13, and unbeaten Iowa, up from No. 17 to No. 14. Oregon ticked up one spot to No. 15 at 3-1.

Four teams entered the rankings this week. Mississippi State debuted at No. 16, the lone newcomer to land in the high teens, carrying a 4-0 record. Houston came in at No. 20 at 3-1, followed by Duke at No. 21 and UCLA at No. 23, both 4-0.

Among the teams that stayed ranked, SMU rose from No. 25 to No. 19 at 3-1. Michigan fell from No. 18 to No. 24, and Missouri dropped from No. 21 to No. 25, with both sitting at 3-1.

The poll also maps the challenge in front of Notre Dame. Three teams still on the Irish schedule appear in the rankings: No. 4 Miami, No. 9 BYU and No. 19 SMU. The most demanding stretch of Notre Dame's season comes later in the year, when that portion of the schedule arrives.