Notre Dame tailback Ryan Grant didn’t find out until early Monday morning that the Irish had made their 2004 debut in the Associated Press Top 25 at No. 24.
Some might argue that the Irish (5-2), with consecutive victories over Michigan, Michigan State and Washington, deserved to be ranked much earlier in the season. Grant wouldn’t be one of them.
“I’m always in favor of us getting ranked; But when you lose certain games, (being unranked) tends to happen,” he said, referring to the 20-17 opening loss at BYU.
Teammate Brandon Hoyte, too, was disappointed about Notre Dame’s early absence from the polls, but realistic about why.
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“We haven’t produced in some years, so that’s probably a reason why we weren’t ranked,” he said. “As long as we keep winning games people will start to notice.”
– Next: Saturday vs. Boston College, 1:30 p.m., WMAQ-Ch. 5.