Joel Klatt says Alabama’s resume is ‘absolutely’ better than Notre Dame’s
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In this week’s Top 25 ranking from the College Football Playoff selection committee, Alabama is sitting at No. 10. Notre Dame is one spot ahead at No. 9.
The placement of those 2 teams in particular — which didn’t change from the previous ranking — has angered Alabama fans, SEC supporters, and many third-party observers for weeks. Alabama’s resume is better, many argue. Notre Dame hasn’t played anywhere close to the caliber of schedule that Alabama has.
FOX Sports’ Joel Klatt said on his podcast this week that the resumes aren’t even all that close.
“Notre Dame’s resume is not in the same hemisphere as Alabama’s resume,” Klatt said this week on his show. “If you’re ranking on resumes, you are absolutely ranking Alabama ahead of Notre Dame.”
According to ESPN’s FPI, Alabama’s strength of schedule ranks ninth nationally. The Irish schedule ranks as the 34th-strongest.
In Jeff Sagarin’s model, Notre Dame is rated as the No. 2 team in the country while Alabama sits seventh, but the schedules aren’t close to comparable.
Notre Dame is 2-2 against Sagarin-rated top-30 teams. The Irish have a 0-2 mark against top-10 teams. Alabama is 6-1 against top-30 teams, including 1-0 against top-10 teams.
No other team in the country has more top-30 wins than Alabama. Oklahoma, which sits one spot ahead of Notre Dame, is the only other team with 6.
“The 2 best opponents that Notre Dame has seen, they’ve lost to,” Klatt said, referencing the Miami and Texas A&M games. “Alabama has a win over Georgia on the road.”
Klatt suggested he’d pick Notre Dame over Oklahoma if the two sides met on a neutral field tomorrow. He said he’d back the Irish against Alabama as well. And that seems to be the only justification for having Notre Dame ahead of Alabama but not Oklahoma. The Sooners’ offense has looked bleak for weeks.
If the eye test were all that mattered, one could argue Notre Dame is too low at No. 9.
“This committee wants to value Notre Dame,” Klatt said. “I’m not disagreeing with this because if you said to me, ‘Hey, Joel, neutral site, who wins next weekend? Alabama or Notre Dame?’ I would pick Notre Dame. So, the committee, I think, is using that as the last resort.”
Derek Peterson does a bit of everything, not unlike Taysom Hill. He has covered Oklahoma, Nebraska, the Pac-12, and now delivers CFB-wide content.
