Joel Klatt shares Wisconsin’s path to beating Alabama on Saturday

Wisconsin will be the center of college football’s national stage on Saturday afternoon.

The Badgers are playing host to the No. 4-ranked Alabama Crimson Tide in what is arguably the best matchup on college football’s Week 3 schedule. The game is Fox’s Big Noon Kickoff, which means a booth of Gus Johnson and Joel Klatt.

Related: 10 keys to Wisconsin Badgers pulling a program-defining upset against Alabama

Klatt has done media all week previewing the matchup. That has included hits on national shows, including The Herd with Colin Cowherd, plus extensive talk on his podcast: ‘The Joel Klatt Show.’

He posted a clip from the latter earlier this week focusing on a topic that will appeal to Badgers fans: how Wisconsin can pull the upset over Alabama.

In fewer words, Klatt mentions Wisconsin’s improved running game compared to last season, the team’s (seemingly) balanced offense, what he calls an ‘underrated’ defense, Tackett Curtis’ pedigree and the team’s strong secondary.

Here’s the summary of his case for the Badgers:

“I do think Wisconsin can play really well on that defensive side. The biggest question for me is that Wisconsin is going to have to control the line of scrimmage. Because they can’t just allow that defense to be on the field against Ryan Williams and Jalen Milroe and company for the entirety of the game. They’ve got to win the time of possession, so it becomes an offensive line battle for Wisconsin. Can they hold up against that defense? I don’t know, we’ll see. I thought Alabama’s defense was okay against South Florida, I didn’t feel like they were great. And we’ll see how they play.”

Wisconsin and Alabama kick off at noon ET, 11 a.m. CT. The Badgers are looking for an upset victory that would kickstart both the 2024 season, and the Luke Fickell era with the program.