Notre Dame is, officially, the No. 1 team in the country.
According to almost everyone.
The Irish were a unanimous pick for No. 1 in the new Associated Press poll released Sunday. And while they also landed at No. 1 in the USA Today coaches poll, they earned 56 of 59 first-place votes in doing so.
It's the first time Notre Dame (11-0) is the AP No. 1 since November 14, 1993.
Alabama received two votes and Georgia received one in the coaches' balloting, which is one of two human polls (the Harris poll is the other) that is part of the Bowl Championship Series formula. Notre Dame went 60-for-60 on the AP ballots, for the record.
Still, despite a trickle of holdouts, there should be no issue with Notre Dame landing at No. 1 in the BCS standings released later Sunday and therefore putting themselves just one win at USC away from a berth in the national title game.
None of this was even possible until cataclysm struck Oregon and Kansas State late Saturday, with the Ducks losing in overtime to Stanford and the Wildcats getting thrashed at Baylor.
Alabama and Georgia run No. 2 and No. 3 in both polls released Sunday and also are expected to fill those slots in the BCS standings. Thus an Irish win at USC likely pits them against the winner of the presumed Crimson Tide-Bulldogs matchup in the SEC championship game.
Meanwhile, the last time Notre Dame and Alabama were ranked No. 1 and No. 2 in the AP poll? The year of 1967.
bchamilton@tribune.com
Twitter @ChiTribHamilton
Notre Dame No. 1 in AP, coaches polls
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Notre Dame No. 1 in AP, coaches polls
