Fox Sports analyst, Joel Klatt, recently made his way-to-early 2025 rankings and has Notre Dame football ranked six. While Notre Dame fans feel six is disrespectful and a slap to the face, the content he stated on the Irish has Irish fans buzzing around with excitement for the 2025 season to kick off.
Notre Dame football will turn their focus to the 2025 season as they will kick their season off on Labor Day weekend with a highly anticipated matchup against the Miami Hurricanes on Sunday, Aug. 31, at 7:30 p.m. ET. The game will be broadcasted on ABC from Hard Rock Stadium in Miami, Fla.
While Notre Dame football fans may feel a little overlooked by Joel Klatt’s early ranking for the 2025 season, his overall statement of the program is far from discouraging, and thinks Notre Dame football will be playing into 2026 next year and will have nothing to worry about.
Joel Klatt has Notre Dame football as a lock for 2025 CFP
Notre Dame football is returning majority of their offense and bringing in key transfers on defense to fill in some major losses on the defense side. Joel Klatt and major media outlet have praised Marcus Freeman and the culture he has built and believe they are set up for greatness.
“The culture at Notre Dame is excellent,” Klatt stated on Marcus Freeman and the program he is building. “The team I believe is elite and I will be absolutely shocked if Notre Dame is not back in the College Football Playoffs next year.”
Klatt thinks this Irish offense is set to be a National Contender again and has the skillset on offense to be one of the best offensive teams in the nation.
“That is the level Marcus Freeman is now competing at. He is building something special. It is not going to surprise me at all if Marcus Freeman is able to win a National Championship at Notre Dame.”
“I think Miami is going to have a really good offensive line, but I think Notre Dame will have the best offensive line in College Football, and they get Jeremiyah Love and Jadarian Price back. So, their ability to run the football is going to be there.”
Klatt loves the players the Irish bring back on offense, as he thinks this rushing attack is going to be lethal. The returning O-line and RB’s will be one of the best in the nation, as he thinks they will be the best.
He talked about the race for the starting Quarterback and didn’t have much to say, but Kirk Herbstreit praised CJ Carr as he stated Carr is "super-freaky talented and “He is a put the franchise on your back type of quarterback” Herbstreit stated on the Pat McAfee show.
“Didn’t you just get the feeling that the culture and what they are building from a depth perspective was able to weather a lot of storms when it comes to the roster.” Klatt stated. “This is a team that lost a lot of guys to injury and yet they were still able to go out there and have a hell of a season.”
His recognition of the Irish as a top contender heading into 2025 has fans optimistic about the future. Notre Dame football opens up with the seventh best odds to win the National Championship with a +1500 odd. Texas and Ohio State open up as the early favorites.
The Irish face a challenging schedule, but with the culture Marcus Freeman has established and the talent returning on both sides of the ball, Klatt’s prediction that Notre Dame will be back in the College Football Playoffs in 2025 seems expected. The future is bright for the Fighting Irish, and if they can stay healthy and execute on the field, it wouldn't be a surprise to see them making a serious run at a National Championship sooner rather than later.