The best place for Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman to be this weekend was on his couch as calamitous carnage occurred across the college football slate. You can’t lose when you’re on a bye week.

Five of the top 11 teams in the Week 6 Associated Press Poll lost on Saturday. Obviously, that resulted in quite the shakeup in the Week 7 poll.

Notre Dame (4-1) moved up three spots in the AP Top 25 to No. 11. The Fighting Irish also moved up one spot in the Coaches Poll to No. 12.

Notre Dame’s Week 2 home loss to Northern Illinois, a team that has since lost to Buffalo and NC State, was devastating in the moment. But as the Irish distance themselves from it and keep winning while other teams add losses to their own ledger, they’re bettering their chances of qualifying for the first-ever 12-team College Football Playoff.

The most notable Week 6 result for the idle Irish was Texas A&M’s 41-10 dismantling of then-No. 9 Missouri. While Louisville lost to SMU and fell out of the polls, the Aggies (5-1) surged to No. 14 in the Coaches Poll and No. 15 in the AP Top 25. Notre Dame’s 23-13 Week 1 win in College Station, Texas, is standing up as a very quality victory on the Irish’s CFP résumé.

Week 7 College Football Coaches Poll

1. Texas (5-0)
2. Ohio State (5-0)
3. Oregon (5-0)
4. Georgia (4-1)
5. Penn State (5-0)
6. Miami (6-0)
7. Alabama (4-1)
8. Ole Miss (5-1)
9. Tennessee (4-1)
10. LSU (4-1)
11. Clemson (4-1)
12. Notre Dame (4-1)
13. Iowa State (5-0)
14. Texas A&M (5-1)
15. BYU (5-0)
16. Oklahoma (4-1)
17. Utah (4-1)
18. Missouri (5-1)
19. Kansas State (4-1)
20. Indiana (6-0)
21. Michigan (4-2)
22. Boise State (4-1)
23. Illinois (4-1)
24. Pittsburgh (5-0)
25. SMU (5-1)

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