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Joel Klatt believes Notre Dame should be ranked higher in AP Poll despite 0-2 start

Grant Grubbs Profile Pictureby: Grant Grubbs09/15/25grant_grubbs_
Marcus Freeman
Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman has some important decisions ahead of him when it comes to fixing the nation's No. 117 team in scoring defense. Michael Clubb/Imagn Images

Notre Dame is the first 0-2 team to be in the AP Top 25 since 1988, and Joel Klatt believes the Fighting Irish should be ranked even higher. On Monday, the FOX Sports analyst explained why he believes Notre Dame is better than its No. 24 ranking.

“Can I say that I’m both still impressed and concerned all at the same time?” Klatt said. “Listen, this has got to be the best 0-2 team that we’ve seen in a long time. These two losses are just devastating. One of them on the road at a very good Miami team, and then this one against Texas A&M, which, again, looks like a team that can really cause some trouble in the top end of the SEC.

“So, I don’t think Notre Dame is a bad team. In fact, and I know this sounds crazy, and I don’t normally compliment the AP poll, but I’m glad that Notre Dame stayed in the AP poll because it tells me that they at least watched and kind of understood what they were seeing. Now, I thought that they dropped a little bit too far. I would have had them much further up or higher in the rankings than what they felt… It’s still a very good football team. They just happen to have gotten beat by two better football teams.”

In Week 1, Notre Dame suffered a nail-biting 27-24 loss to Miami. Since then, the Hurricanes have continued to look like the favorite to win the ACC this season.

Notre Dame fans handled the loss relatively well. After all, there were plenty of promising highlights in the game, including new quarterback CJ Carr. However, Fighting Irish fans’ optimism was put to the test this weekend when Notre Dame fell 41-40 loss at home to Texas A&M.

Worse, Notre Dame had an extra week to prepare for the Aggies, with a bye in Week 2. It was a grueling loss for head coach Marcus Freeman and Co., who had the Aggies fourth-and-goal from the 11-yard line before Texas A&M QB Marcel Reed threw the game-winning touchdown pass.

Alas, with the College Football Playoff now including 12 teams, Notre Dame’s season is far from ruined. In fact, the Fighting Irish only more current ranked foe on their schedule. That opponent is USC, the only team in the AP Top 25 ranked lower than Notre Dame.

For now, Notre Dame can do nothing but keep its nose to the grindstone. On Saturday, the Fighting Irish will look to bounce back in a showdown against Purdue at 3:30 p.m. ET. The game will air live on NBC.