The preseason USA Today coaches’ poll came out Thursday, and the coaches seem to think Notre Dame will be pretty good this year.
The Irish check in at 18th in the poll. That's higher than they were at any point last season.
It's also one spot higher than Auburn, the defending national champs.
Notre Dame's got most of their starters coming back on both sides of the ball. And it’s easy to imagine the way they finished the season -- with four straight wins, including over USC and a Top 20 Utah team -- is a big reason why the Irish are getting some respect.
Here's a look at the Top 10: Notre Dame has just two ranked opponents on the schedule -- Stanford at 6 and Michigan State at 17. The Irish will be favored to win in nearly all of the games.
