Notre Dame climbs to No. 2 in Coaches Poll after Stanford win, Miami moves up to No. 3

Notre Dame moved up one spot to No. 2 in the post-Week 6 US LBM Coaches Poll after beating Stanford. The 6-0 Fighting Irish are now behind only Georgia.

Fighting Irish Wire reported the new rankings on Sunday. Notre Dame drew three first-place votes. Georgia, also 6-0, moved from No. 2 to No. 1 and got 60 first-place votes, so the top spot is still clearly the Bulldogs' for now. The Irish climbed mostly because teams ranked above them lost. Texas had been No. 1 a week ago and dropped to No. 6 at 4-1.

ACC teams also gained in the shuffle. Miami moved from No. 4 to No. 3 at 5-0 and received one first-place vote. That puts the Hurricanes ahead of Indiana, which rose to No. 4 with nine first-place votes, and Ohio State, which went from No. 6 to No. 5 with one first-place vote. Notre Dame and Miami now sit back to back near the top of a poll that changed a great deal in one Saturday.

Lower in the rankings, Wake Forest entered the poll at No. 23 with a 5-1 record. SMU slipped one spot to No. 22 at 4-1. Fighting Irish Wire described a major shakeup in the top six. It also noted that Kentucky, led by quarterback Kenny Minchey, beat LSU. The Wildcats moved from No. 25 to No. 17, and LSU fell from No. 10 to No. 21. Oregon dropped from No. 13 to No. 25 at 3-2.

The loss leaves Stanford at 2-4. Notre Dame's win over the Cardinal kept its record perfect at about the midpoint of the season. The outlet said that is also when the College Football Playoff picture starts to come into focus.

Notre Dame's next game is much tougher. The Irish go to Provo to face No. 8 BYU, which is 5-0, in a matchup of top-eight teams. Fighting Irish Wire reported that ESPN's College GameDay will be in Provo for the game. The Cougars have stayed at No. 8 for two straight weeks, and a home win over the Irish would be the biggest win of their season so far.

For Notre Dame, the trip to Provo is a chance to back up its No. 2 ranking against a ranked, unbeaten team on the road. A win would keep the Irish in a strong playoff position and add pressure on Georgia at the top. A loss would put them back in the crowded group of contenders that the latest poll just reshuffled.

Miami has its own reason to watch. The Hurricanes are the highest-ranked ACC team in the poll and now trail only Georgia and Notre Dame. They can keep climbing if the teams above them stumble the way Texas did this past weekend.