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After a dominant 52-0 win over the Rice Owls in their home opener, the Irish rank No. 3 in this week's US LBM Top 25 Coaches Poll. Notre Dame hasn't fared well in their home openers under head coach Marcus Freeman and were 0-3 against FBS opponents in their home openers heading into their matchup with the Owls. Thankfully, thankfully, we can now start to put that narrative behind us after the Irish not only won, but shut out Rice marking the first time since 2022 the Irish shut out an opponent. 

It was an impressive victory from start to finish. It's not anything that would vault them to No. 1 or make a lasting impression on the College Football Playoff Committee in November, but it was a much needed, dominant victory for this Fighting Irish squad that looks to assert itself as one of the premier teams in the country. The Irish held Rice to 128 total yards of offense, and 77 of those came on the final two offensive possessions of the game. 

Notre Dame recovered four fumbles, finished the game with 8.0 tackles for loss and 1.0 sack while the Irish offense lit it up through the air. Starting quarterback CJ Carr finished the game going 16-20 for 253 yards and four touchdowns completing passes to eight different receivers before being pulled early in the third quarter. This was a much-needed, dominant home opening performance and it kept the Irish ranked inside of the Top 5 this week in the Top 25 Coaches Poll. 

There was some movement throughout the poll. The Texas Longhorns now rank No. 1 in the country after their 24-23 comeback victory over the now ranked No. 6 Ohio State Buckeyes. The Oregon Ducks now rank No. 18 in the country after their 39-31 loss to the Oklahoma State Cowboys. The Michigan Wolverines are back in the Coaches Poll Top 25 at No 19 after upsetting the Oklahoma Sooners 17-10 in the Big House. The Sooners are now ranked No. 21 in the Top 25 Coaches Poll. 

COACHES POLL TOP 25

1. Texas Longhorns (2-0)
2. Georgia Bulldogs (2-0)
3. Notre Dame Fighting Irish (2-0)
4. Indiana Hoosiers (2-0)
5. Miami Hurricanes (2-0)
6. Ohio State Buckeyes (1-1)
7. LSU Tigers (2-0)
8. Texas A&M Aggies (2-0)
9. Ole Miss Rebels (2-0)
10. Alabama Crimson Tide (2-0)
11. USC Trojans (2-0)
12. Texas Tech Red Raiders (2-0)
13. BYU Cougars (2-0)
14. Tennessee Volunteers (2-0)
15. Penn State Nittany Lions (2-0)
16. SMU Mustangs (2-0)
17. Utah Utes (2-0)
18. Oregon Ducks (1-1)
19. Michigan Wolverines (2-0)
20. Iowa Hawkeyes (2-0)
21. Oklahoma Sooners (1-1)
22. Missouri Tigers (2-0)
23. Houston Cougars (2-0)
24. Washington Huskies (2-0)
25. Virginia Cavaliers (2-0)

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