FOX's Joel Klatt Discusses Notre Dame's Strengths and 'Limiting Factor'
On the whole, Notre Dame’s 45-3 dismantling of Pitt on Oct. 24 went a long way toward quieting those voices who questioned the Irish’s worthiness of the top-five ranking given to them.
A 12-7 win over Louisville the week before inspired little confidence and made the perception of their move up from No. 4 to No. 3 (they since moved back to fourth) in the AP poll one of skepticism. Was Notre Dame that good, or is it just there because the other candidates are less worthy? A 42-point win answered that for one prominent college football voice, FOX Sports analyst Joel Klatt, who initially predicted a Pitt near-upset.
Klatt, speaking on “The Herd with Colin Cowherd”, said he ranks the Irish fourth in his personal top 25, one spot ahead of Georgia. And it’s a deserved placement, he said.
“Notre Dame is really big at key spots,” Klatt said. “They have a safety that’s enormous. Their tight ends are big. They have big bodies that allow them to do cool stuff on offense.”
Klatt, though, thinks there is a gap between Notre Dame and those first three in overall talent and at the game’s most important position.
“I still think they’re behind from a talent perspective, those teams at the top,” Klatt said.
“I think the limiting factor right now is probably (quarterback) Ian Book. “If you just have to have him sit there, drop back and throw the football – which they’re going to have to do at some point, they have Clemson next week – is he going to be able to do that?”
Book put forth a strong game against Pitt, completing 16 of 30 passes for 312 yards and three touchdowns. This season, his third as a starter, he has thrown for 1,025 yards, six touchdowns and one interception while completing 59.7 percent of his passes. He is averaging 8.3 yards per attempt. Excluding sacks, he has 206 rushing yards and five touchdowns on 33 carries (6.2 yards per rush).
“The questions remain for Notre Dame on that,” Klatt said. “But this is really good team. Top-five in the country.”
Clemson will come to South Bend with quarterback uncertainty after Trevor Lawrence’s revealed Thursday he tested positive for COVID-19. He won’t play Saturday at Boston College. His availability for the game at Notre Dame is not clear. Freshman and former top-three overall recruit D.J. Uiagalelei will step in as the starter.
Without Lawrence, Clemson’s offensive ceiling is ostensibly lower. But the Tigers are still unbeaten and have lost just two regular-season games since 2015. Notre Dame is their toughest remaining game. No matter who’s out there at quarterback Nov. 7, Klatt thinks the game will be a welcomed challenge for a team that has proven it has no ACC equal.
“There is an element to Clemson,” Klatt said. “They’re so veteran, so good. I think they’re bored out of their mind just waiting, like Gerard Butler in '300.' Just licking their chops for an opponent that will test them. They thought they were going to get that in Miami, but they went out there and, ‘Bam!’ Just crushed them (42-17 on Oct. 10). Something tells me we’re in for a game like that against Notre Dame. Clemson can’t wait to be tested.”
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