Where Notre Dame lands in Joel Klatt's post-spring top 25
As more post-spring top-25 rankings roll in from around college football media, Notre Dame continues to be a consistent top-seven team.
Fox Sports’ Joel Klatt revealed his post-spring top 25 on Monday, and the Irish slotted in at No. 6. Only Penn State, Texas, Ohio State, Oregon and Clemson, respectively, ranked ahead of Notre Dame on Klatt’s list.
During his explanation for why he ranked the Fighting Irish No. 6, Klatt predicted sophomore CJ Carr to win the starting quarterback job over junior Kenny Minchey. Despite the uncertainty at the most important position in sports — as good as Notre Dame thinks Carr and Minchey can be, they’ve thrown zero and three passes in college, respectively — Klatt thinks the Irish will have enough to make the College Football Playoff again.
His logic starts with what should be an elite offensive line.
“Notre Dame is gonna be able to pound the rock,” Klatt said. “This style that they’ve been able to lean on with Marcus Freeman is largely gonna be able to play forward, because of their offensive line. Their offensive line is stacked. Five guys who started at times last year. They’ve got Jeremiyah Love behind them. I think this run game is going to be dynamic.”
Klatt lauded the job Freeman did in elevating the Irish from what it was under former head coach Brian Kelly. Kelly’s later Notre Dame teams would consistently win double-digit games, but they could never get over the hump in the postseason. Freeman’s 2024 team did that with wins in the Sugar and Orange Bowls in Year 3.
Klatt called Freeman a “dynamic coach,” who supplied the Irish with more speed and athleticism. The No. 1 example, he explained, is Love.
“This guy is phenomenal,” Klatt said. “He’s one of my best players in the country, one of the most explosive players in the country. When you put him behind an offensive line with the experience that Notre Dame’s offensive line is gonna have, I think they’re gonna have a big year.”
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Klatt liked a few of Notre Dame’s offseason moves, including the additions of Virginia transfer Malachi Fields and Wisconsin transfer Will Pauling to the receiving corps. He’s also a big fan of new defensive coordinator Chris Ash.
“Chris Ash, in my estimation, has been one of the more — what’s the word — under-appreciated, undervalued coordinators in college football for a long time,” Klatt said. “And I really loved the Freeman culture that he’s built at Notre Dame. They have a freshman All-American at cornerback, Leonard Moore. He’s back to lead the secondary.”
Finally, even though Notre Dame’s schedule is stronger than it was a year ago, Klatt still sees it as favorable for the Irish.
“They’re gonna open at Miami,” Klatt said. “If they win that game, they’re going to the playoffs. Then they get a bye week before hosting Texas A&M. If they beat Miami, it doesn’t even matter what they do against A&M, but if they win those two, watch out. They could be undefeated.”
