As the Notre Dame football team opened up the season with an impressive 41-13 win over Wisconsin, the program followed up with another dominant victory against the Rice Owls on Saturday in Week 2, 52-0. With Notre Dame football head coach Marcus Freeman looking to return the program to former glory, this analyst would have them as the top-ranked team in the nation.

Looking at The Associated Press (AP) poll and the Coaches Poll, one would find the Texas Longhorns as the No. 1 ranked team after the huge 24-23 win over the Ohio State Buckeyes on Saturday night. However, Rece Davis would say on “The Pat McAfee Show” that the Fighting Irish are his No. 1 team, as the Longhorns didn't look like the top team in the country throughout the whole game.

“I still have Notre Dame ranked number one. I put Texas number two because I wanted to honor the victory,” Davis said. “But if you watch the entire game, I realize it's a far greater opponent than anybody Notre Dame's faced so far, but kind of watching the whole game, it was really hard to get to the place where I think this is the best team in the country.”

"I still have Notre Dame ranked at number one..

I don't have Texas on top right now" ~ @ReceDavis #PMSLive https://t.co/baNm6Yxr4V pic.twitter.com/Ook7WUxOjJ

— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) September 15, 2026

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Rece Davis on Notre Dame football being above the Texas Longhorns

Davis would continue talking about why he has the Notre Dame football team over the Longhorns, further emphasizing the Longhorns not looking up to par the entire game against the Buckeyes.

“They certainly have the best win and the best moment…I think they have the potential to be right there,” Davis said. “They've [Longhorns] got other great opportunities. Trip to Tennessee coming up. Tennessee, who I think is really good, maybe even better than I anticipated, but I don't have them on top right now just because the entire game they didn't always look like number one.”

Another team that could've been in the top spot for Davis was the LSU Tigers, as the Fighting Irish are No. 3 per the AP and coaches' poll. Up next for the Fighting Irish is the Michigan State Spartans on Saturday.