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The Notre Dame Fighting Irish have moved up to No. 3 on this week's USA Today Coaches Poll, benefiting from the Alabama Crimson Tide's first defeat of the season on Saturday. The Irish are now one of just three remaining unbeaten teams in the country after Alabama's surprising 29-24 loss to the Texas A&M Aggies.
Ahead of Notre Dame in the rankings are the other two teams that have avoided defeat so far this season, the top-ranked Oregon Ducks and the No. 2 Kansas St. Wildcats. If all three teams somehow remain unbeaten following the regular season, the BCS will have quite an interesting time determining who plays in the national title game.
The Northwestern Wildcats likely would've been ranked this week had the they not blown the lead in a overtime loss to the Michigan Wolverines on Saturday. But with a .500 record in conference play and more losses than wins over the past five weeks, Pat Fitzgerald's squad is on the outside looking in these days.