This week, Marcus Freeman's Notre Dame made history as the first 0-2 program to appear in the Associated Press Top 25 since 1988. Despite the rocky start, FOX Sports analyst Joel Klatt argued the Fighting Irish deserve to sit higher than their current spot at No. 24.
“Can I say that I’m both still impressed and concerned all at the same time?” Klatt said Monday. “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.”
Klatt was particularly blunt about the Irish defense in Saturday’s 41-40 home loss.
“The defense was unrecognizable!” he said, reacting to the late collapse that gave Texas A&M quarterback Marcel Reed the chance to deliver a fourth-and-goal touchdown from the 11-yard line for the win.
Notre Dame’s season opened with a 27-24 defeat at Miami, a team now favored to capture the ACC. After a bye in Week 2, Marcus Freeman’s squad had two weeks to prepare for the Aggies, making the narrow loss even more frustrating for fans.
Still, Klatt praised the pollsters for keeping the Irish ranked.
“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,” he said. “Now, I thought that they dropped a little bit too far. I would have had them much further up or higher in the rankings.”
Notre Dame now turns its attention to Purdue, with kickoff set for 3:30 p.m. ET Saturday on NBC.