Tag: Joel Klatt

Exclusive: Joel Klatt breaks down Michigan football expectations in 2021

#Michigan football fans: You’re gonna want to read this awesome insight from one of the brightest minds in college football! #GoBlue

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INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. — Since he became FOX Sports’ premier color commentator for college football, former Colorado quarterback Joel Klatt has been known as one of the sharpest minds and analysts in the sport.

Every year at Big Ten media days, we have a chance to have a one-on-one with Klatt to discuss that state of Michigan football, going back to before WolverinesWire launched in the summer of 2018. With Big Ten media days resuming after a year off, we got a chance to catch up with Klatt to discuss the state of the program.

Though there’s both local and national consternation when it comes to Jim Harbaugh and the Wolverines, Klatt doesn’t see it as an abysmal or dismal situation in Ann Arbor. While he isn’t predicting that the maize and blue will emerge as the best in the conference, he shares his thoughts on how close or far away Michigan is, what it needs to do to succeed as early as this year, his thoughts on the quarterback battle and much more.

Check out the full transcript of our Q&A below or watch the full interview in the video above.

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WATCH: Wisconsin football releases hype video ahead of Notre Dame matchup

Earlier today, Wisconsin football released a hype video featuring Fox analyst Joe Klatt ahead of their matchup against the Notre Dame Fir…

Earlier today, Wisconsin football released a hype video featuring Fox analyst Joe Klatt ahead of their matchup against the Notre Dame Firing Irish at Soldier Field in Chicago on September 25.

Related: Could Wisconsin be the site of a ‘College Gameday’ this season?

Even though the Wisconsin Badgers were unable to play the Notre Dame Fighting Irish in their highly anticipated matchup at Lambeau Field this past season, the rematch was rescheduled earlier this month to 2026.

Although this year’s matchup is not played in the heart of Wisconsin, it should be an outstanding game to watch as it will likely feature former Wisconsin quarterback Jack Coan at the helm for the Fighting Irish after he transferred this offseason.

Contact/Follow us @TheBadgersWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Wisconsin news, notes, opinion and analysis.

See where Joel Klatt ranks Justin Fields among quarterbacks in the 2021 NFL draft

According to FOX College Football’s Joel Klatt, Ohio State quarterback Justin Fields is the second-best signal-caller in the 2021 NFL draft.

If you’ve been reading all the press clippings about Ohio State quarterback Justin Fields, then you are fully aware that his NFL draft stock has dropped a wee-bit. While he may have been just slightly behind Clemson’s Trevor Lawrence in the race for the No. 1 pick at the start of the season, a couple of less-than-stellar games in combination with an abbreviated season seemed to bring out the overzealous and over analyzation from many.

Because of it, Fields had fallen in the eyes of some analysts and NFL types. The general consensus is that BYU’s Zach Wilson has passed him, and Trey Lance of North Dakota State may give him a run for the literal money as well.

But not everyone is in that camp. FOX College Football’s Joel Klatt still believes that Fields is one whale of a player and clearly the second-best option behind Lawrence.

“He’s got a great arm. I love his athleticism and I love his leadership,” Klatt said. “A big reason why we even had college football to begin with – in particular in the Big Ten – is because of Justin Fields. This guy is an alpha. He’s got a great skill set, athleticism, all those things that you love. He’s a great player, and that’s going to translate at the next level.”

If anyone should know, it’s Klatt. He’s seen more of Justin Fields in person than almost any analyst out there. You could even say he was the unofficial voice for Ohio State football over the last couple of years with as many times as the FOX crew called Buckeye games.

You can watch Klatt make his remarks in counting down the ten best signal-callers in the draft thanks to the video shared to his personal Twitter page.

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Ohio State given a lot of respect in Joel Klatt’s early 2021 college football rankings

After a disappointing loss to Alabama and finishing No. 2 in the final polls, Joel Klatt ranks his way-too-early top 10 for 2021.

The College Football Playoff national championship game is still fresh in everyone’s mind with Ohio State coming out on the wrong side of the scoreboard. Does that mean it’s too early to begin thinking about next season? If you’re a Buckeye fan… of course it isn’t.

Joel Klatt likes to give his opinion on college football and shortly after the Alabama Crimson Tide secured their nineteenth national title, Klatt shared who he thinks the top teams will be in 2021. Coming in at No. 1 on Klatt’s list? The Georgia Bulldogs (insert eye-roll here).

How about Ohio State? With an expected exodus to the NFL, the Fox Sports analyst put the Buckeyes in the No. 4 line of his admittedly “way-too-early” rankings. Sandwiched between Georgia and Ohio State are two other blue bloods with Alabama No. 2 and at No. 3 the Oklahoma Sooners.

Somewhat unexpectedly, Klatt put Tom Allen’s Indiana Hoosiers in the top ten as well. But hey, Allen has the program going in the right direction and the Hoosiers do have some key players returning to Bloomington next year.

Ohio State will most likely be breaking in a new quarterback in 2021 as Justin Fields is expected to declare for the NFL draft and there are some other big names that might need to be replaced in Chris Olave, Shaun Wade, Haskell Garrett, and possibly more.

On the bright side of things, the Buckeyes do have the current second-ranked recruiting class in the nation coming to Columbus for next season. However, it will most likely take some time before the young guns are ready to contribute in a meaningful way.

Either way, the cupboard is still pretty stocked on the banks of the Olentangy and it’s never too early to start thinking about next year.

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College football analyst Joel Klatt ranks Georgia No. 1 for 2021

Joel Klatt, a college football analyst, ranks the Georgia Bulldogs as his No. 1 team in his way-too-early 2021 college football rankings

Joel Klatt, a Fox Sports college football analyst, ranks the Georgia Bulldogs as his No. 1 team in his way-too-early 2021 college football rankings. Klatt ranks National Championship winning Alabama No. 2.

The Crimson Tide are likely losing wide receivers Jaylen Waddle and DeVonta Smith to the 2021 NFL Draft along with starting quarterback Mac Jones. Nick Saban and Alabama will reload once again and should (and will) probably be ranked No. 1 entering into the 2021 season. Alabama will return almost their entire defense and is stocked with talent.

The Georgia Bulldogs return some serious offensive firepower in quarterback JT Daniels, wide receiver George Pickens, and more. Georgia is very talented, but needs to prove itself before being ranked No. 1. Additionally, Georgia is losing numerous defenders to the 2021 NFL Draft, including the majority of Georgia’s secondary.

The Oklahoma Sooners, Ohio State Buckeyes and Clemson Tigers round out Klatt’s top five. These are essentially the same teams who have been making the College Football Playoff almost every season.

The Georgia Bulldogs and Clemson Tigers are scheduled to open the 2021 season in Charlotte, North Carolina, so Georgia and Clemson fans won’t have to wait long to know if their team is good.

Klatt shared his full top ten rankings for 2021 via his Twitter account:

What do you think of these way-too-early rankings? Texas A&M, Oregon, and USC all think they’re worthy of a high early ranking, but aren’t on Klatt’s list. LSU certainly has the talent of a top ten team, but the Tigers were lackluster throughout the 2020 season.

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Urban Meyer and Joel Klatt preview national championship game between Ohio State and Alabama

Former Ohio State head coach and FOX College Football analyst Joel Klatt preview Ohio State vs. Alabama in the CFP title game.

Two days. That’s how close we are to the College Football Playoff national championship game between Ohio State and Alabama. It’s only been a little over a week since the Buckeyes silenced Dabo Swinney and Clemson, but it sure feels a lot longer.

We’ve already had a slew of interviews, previews, and hype for this game, and everyone is ready to get the party in Miami started at this point. But be patient. It’s not quite time yet. In fact, with just a couple of more days to go, you are sure to see even more previews and build up.

On that note, we ran across a preview from FOX College Football’s Joel Klatt and Urban Meyer that is a pretty good one. Of course, anytime we can hear from the former Ohio State coach, we’re listening, and it’s no different here.

Watch the below and see what both Klatt and Meyer have to say about the upcoming contest and what they believe are keys to the game.

As a reminder, Ohio State and Alabama are set to do battle Monday night at 8 p.m EST in Hard Rock Stadium down in Miami.

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Joel Klatt puts Ohio State at No. 3 in his final rankings before bowl season

FOX’s Joel Klatt provides his final ranking of where he thinks the Ohio State football team is prior to the College Football Playoff.

All season long, we’ve been following Fox college football analyst, Joel Klatt, as he shares his weekly opinion on who he feels are the top teams in the nation. And all season, Klatt has shown great respect for Ohio State keeping them no lower than No. 3 on his list.

Klatt had the Buckeyes as high as No. 2 as recently as last week, but with a sub-par showing against Northwestern in the Big Ten Championship combined with a dominating Clemson win over Notre Dame, the Buckeyes dropped to No. 3 once again.

Turns out that’s exactly where the playoff committee put Ohio State as well. As a matter of fact, Klatt got the top five teams in the correct order according to the final playoff rankings.

Time to see if Klatt has been right about the Buckeyes all along. They’ll face a really talented Clemson team in the Sugar Bowl in New Orleans on January 1. We can only hope we get the same competitive game as last year… minus the poor officiating.

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Joel Klatt still believes Ohio State is the second-best team in the nation heading into championship week

The Buckeyes are still getting respect from the Fox Sports College Football analyst. He has them as the second-best team in the country.

Joel Klatt believes Ohio State is one of the best teams in the nation despite some in the national media who want to write a narrative that five games aren’t enough to tell if the Buckeyes are for real. Funny, many of them are the same ones who write articles ranking teams in the preseason.

Even though Klatt’s rankings don’t really matter in the grand scheme of things, it is nice to see someone who thinks so highly of OSU. Regardless of how many games the Buckeyes have played, Klatt clearly believes Ohio State deserves a seat at the table, unlike a certain high profile head coach.

After losing to LSU, Florida dropped out of Klatt’s top 10. And with North Carolina waxing one-loss Miami, the Hurricanes also fell out of sight. The Florida loss, of course, helps the Buckeyes’ cause in getting an invite to the College Football Playoff.

Opinions are just that and nothing more. The Buckeyes will find out where they stand in the committee’s eyes on Tuesday evening. Ohio State needs to take care of business when it faces Northwestern in the Big Ten Championship next Saturday. And it will not hurt to get a little help along the way.

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CFB Analyst: Georgia’s top 10 ranking is ‘laughable’

College football analyst Joel Klatt considers the Georgia Bulldogs to be one of the most overrated teams in the country.

College football analyst Joel Klatt considers the Georgia Bulldogs to be one of the most overrated teams in the College Football Playoff rankings.  Georgia is ranked No. 8 and is the top ranked two-loss team despite having very few quality top 25 wins.

That being said, Georgia’s played an all-SEC schedule and has looked impressive in most of their wins, especially with JT Daniels at quarterback. Georgia lost to two quality teams in Florida and Alabama, who would beat most of the other top 25 college football teams in the country with ease.

At the end of the day, Georgia is a better team than BYU, Iowa State, and Miami. Iowa State and Miami have several one possession wins, while Georgia only has one. The Bulldogs have dominated most of their opponents. BYU has been dominant as well, but has a cream puff schedule with opponents like North Alabama, Troy, Texas State, Western Kentucky, and more.

Here was Joel Klatt’s reaction and takeaways from the latest CFP rankings:

Klatt’s first point that Alabama deserves to be No. 1 is completely valid. The Crimson Tide haven’t had many close games this season despite playing top 10 teams like Georgia and Texas A&M.

The top four aren’t clearly better than the fifth and sixth ranked teams in the country in Texas A&M and Florida. The Florida Gators would compete with any team in the top four and deserve some respect. The Gators need to play their best game of the season to defeat the Alabama Crimson Tide in the SEC Championship Game.

As mentioned above, BYU deserves to be ranked so low when they haven’t beat a single Power Five opponent. Their schedule is comically easy and the CFP Committee doesn’t have to be impressed with what they’ve done. A lot of teams in the country would be undefeated with BYU’s schedule and Georgia is one of them.

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Ohio State unmoved in Joel Klatt’s weekly top ten

Joel Klatt still has respect for Buckeyes despite not playing this weekend. He still has Ohio State right near the top of his rankings.

It was like waking up on Christmas morning and seeing no presents under the tree having the Ohio State football game canceled so late on Friday night. What a gut punch when you look forward to something all week only to have the rug ripped out from under your feet. On the bright side, I did get some things done around the house (insert eye-roll here).

I do applaud Ohio State for taking these matters seriously and doing their best to keep players and coaches safe. And as disappointed as fans are not seeing the Buckeyes play, I’m sure the team is even more disappointed.

With that said, let’s look on the bright side of things. There are still those who believe that Ohio State, even with only four games under its belt, is still one of the top teams in the country. FOX’s Joel Klatt happens to be one of those people.

Klatt kept the Buckeyes at No. 3 on his weekly list ahead of one-loss Clemson who welcomed back Trevor Lawrence yesterday in an easy win over Pitt. Even though Klatt’s opinion is just that, it’s still nice to see Ohio State getting respect from the national media guys.

We’ll see if the playoff committee is as friendly on Tuesday evening when the official rankings come out and how much slack they’ll cut the Buckeyes for things that are out of their control. On to Michigan State… fingers crossed.

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Contact/Follow us @BuckeyesWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Ohio State news, notes and opinion.

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