Some Poll Slippage...Same With Brackets

Notre Dame's 1-1 week (although it's almost like 1/2-1 1/2 due to the ugly way the Irish won at Rutgers on Sunday), kept the Irish pretty much at status quo this week in the newest rankings.
The Associated Press media poll has Notre Dame at No. 21, dropping one spot from last week. The USA Today/ESPN Coaches' poll dropped the Irish a bit further, to No. 21 from No. 18.
The next two weeks will tell a bunch about Notre Dame heading into March. The Irish have two games against top Big East teams at home -- Pittsburgh on Thursday and Syracuse on Sunday. Following that could be a winner-locks-up-a-bye game at Louisville on Feb. 28. While the Irish will reach the NCAA tournament barring a complete unraveling, this three-game swing is crucial for seeding, both in New York and in the NCAAs.
The Bracket Project has Notre Dame as a No. 5 seed in its composite, with most bracketologists placing the Irish between a 4 and 6 seed. Lead bracketeer Joe Lunardi has Notre Dame as a No. 4 seed heading to Denver to play Cornell. Dave Curtis of the Orlando Sentinel has the Irish as a No. 5 seed facing Kent State in Omaha, Neb.
By the way, it's now less than one month until Selection Sunday. Yeah, we can smell the excitement, too.
-By Michael Rothstein of The Journal Gazette