Joel Klatt Releases Preseason Top 25 — Here’s Why He’s High on Notre Dame

"Their talent is way better than you think. See, I think people get stuck in this, this idea that like, 'Well, Brian Kelly had to go to LSU in order to go and win and recruit at the top end and win a national championship.'

"They just played for a national championship under Marcus Freeman!

Marcus Freeman has recruited and signed a player with an average rating of 91 and a half. Brian Kelly was recruiting and signing a player with an average rating of 90, so a point and a half higher in terms of his star rating and recruiting services. Now, does that make a difference? The answer is yes. The answer is yes, because if you just went by the averages and you looked at like the average of 90 for Brian Kelly over those three years, it would have been about 12th best in the country. Well, the 91 and a half for Marcus Freeman is seventh best in the country."

Klatt Calls Notre Dame 'Elite':

"This team is an elite team. All right, their rankings over the last few years as it relates to just their average player rating, fourth in the country, fifth in the country, seventh in the country, they're doing a hell of a job. So this idea that they, you know, well, we've got to do it with development, and we don't quite have the players. No, that's false. Notre Dame has the players. Jeremiyah. Love leads the list. This guy is dynamic. I love Jeremiyah Love.

The schedule is obviously favorable. It's front loaded, early games against Miami and (Texas) A&M. If they just split those two games, they should be fine and into the CFP, they have an identity under Marcus Freeman...I just don't have any questions about this. Notre Dame team. They know who they are."

Joel Klatt's Full Preseason Top 25 Rankings:

25. Utah
24. Oklahoma
23. Baylor
22. Iowa
21. Ole Miss

20. Iowa State
19. Texas Tech
18. Arizona State
17. Indiana
16. Texas A&M

15. Kansas State
14. Florida
13. Illinois
12. Miami (FL)
11. South Carolina

10. Michigan
9. Alabama
8. LSU
7. Georgia
6. Notre Dame

5. Oregon
4. Clemson
3. Ohio State
2. Texas
1. Penn State

Nick Shepkowski's Quick Takeaway:

What is Notre Dame able to get early on from the defensive tackles? That will tell the story of how the Irish fare against Miami and Texas A&M more than anything, including the new starting quarterback. Getting through the first two games with a split might not be a huge ask but running the table, the final 10 games feel like a bit more of one than many want to believe.

Worth noting is that of Klatt's top 10 teams, Notre Dame is one of seven in the top 10 that will have a new regular starting quarterback this season. Only Penn State, Clemson, and LSU will not.