Joel Klatt highlights biggest question in Notre Dame, why they're ranked at No. 6

Notre Dame is coming off one of their best seasons this century with the Fighting Irish having won 14 games en route to a runner-up finish in the College Football Playoff. Now, just one thing has them currently outside the top-five for next season for Joel Klatt.

Klatt rated Notre Dame at No. 6 in his Post-Spring Top-25 during his show on Monday. The lone question that has them there at this point of the offseason to him is the one they have at quarterback with CJ Carr, the former four-star, set to see his first collegiate action as a redshirt freshman this fall being their new starter.

“Big question for me is at quarterback, alright,” said Klatt. “It looks like CJ Carr is going to be there and starting at quarterback next year after Steve Angeli – backed up Riley Leonard last year – entered the portal, transferred to Syracuse in the spring window. So, again, CJ Carr? Looks like it’s his deal.”

Carr could be the difference for Notre Dame considering what all else they’ll have on both sides of the ball. Their identity will still be there with or without him with the run game on offense expected to be very productive again while the defense should be among the nation’s better ones again now under a new defensive coordinator.

“Notre Dame is going to be able to pound the rock, alright. So this style that they’ve been able to lean on with Marcus Freeman is largely going to be able to play forward because 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..This guy is phenomenal. He’s one of my best players in the country, one of the most explosive players in the country,” said Klatt. “When you put him behind an offensive line, with the experience that Notre Dame’s offensive line is going to have? I think they’re going to have a big year.”

“You go to the defensive side? Notre Dame should be really good again. Marcus Freeman brought in Chris Ash to replace Al Golden. Chris Ash, in my estimation, has been one of the more, what’s the word, underappreciated, undervalued coordinators in college football for a long time.”

With that, Klatt thinks Notre Dame is only looking at their first two games of this fall. Winning one or both of them through the opening three weeks should, assuming no unexpected loss elsewhere, be enough to him for them to be back in the playoff again for the second straight season.

“What I love about Notre Dame is their schedule. It’s not a difficult schedule and it’s actually front-loaded so we’re going to see and learn everything that we need to learn about Notre Dame early in the year, not the dissimilar from what we saw last year when they were able to go and beat Texas A&M early in that season,” said Klatt. “They’re going to open at Miami. 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. I’m just saying. Like, there’s not a ton left on that schedule. Now, it’s more difficult than last year but, it’s definitely front-loaded and their difficulty is in the front end of that schedule.”

This is all a result of the work by Marcus Freeman through three seasons in South Bend. That’s what could have them right back in contention next year, after coming a game shy of a national title in the last one, as a top-ten team at least for Klatt.

“Marcus Freeman is a dynamic coach. He has elevated Notre Dame’s program from a program that we thought was kind of topped out for where college football was – 10 wins, Brian Kelly was doing a heck of a job. And Marcus Freeman came in and put his stamp on it and he got more electric players, more speed, more athleticism,” Klatt said. “I really love the Freeman culture that he’s built at Notre Dame.”