The final AP poll was released on Tuesday morning and Notre Dame finished the season No. 11. Coming off of a Fiesta Bowl loss and a 10-3 season, the Irish slipped outside of the Top 10, but had losses to three of the four top teams in the country, falling to No. 2 Clemson, No. 3 Stanford and No. 4 Ohio State by a total of 20 points.
Notre Dame had one win over a team ranked in the final poll, with only Navy (at 11-2) finishing in the rankings at No. 18. The Irish were the second highest ranked three-loss team, falling below Ole Miss (No. 10), who beat Alabama during the regular season and cruised in the Sugar Bowl to a 48-20 win over Oklahoma State.
The top ten also included Alabama (No. 1), Oklahoma (No. 5), Michigan State (No. 6), TCU (No. 7), Houston (No. 8) and Iowa (No. 9), the Sooners, Spartans and Hawkeyes all ending the season with a loss.