The Joel Klatt Show: A College Football Podcast - 10 Games that will shape the 2024 College Football Season

Episode Date: June 3, 2024

FOX Sports’ lead college football analyst Joel Klatt reveals 10 games that will shape the upcoming season. He begins with a couple early-season non-conference games that will give either the Big Ten or SEC an early edge in the battle for extra spots in the 12-team Playoff. Klatt also considers the potential ramifications when Coach Prime takes on Matt Rhule and Nebraska in September. Along with non-conference games, there are powerhouse matchups in the SEC like Kalen DeBoer’s first meeting with Kirby Smart and Georgia’s trip to Austin. He also lays out an under-the-radar SEC team that is set up to potentially sneak into the Conference Championship Game. Klatt also lists Big Ten games that will alter the trajectory of teams like Ohio State, Oregon and Penn State then discusses the potential fallout from the outcome of 2024 edition of “The Game” between Michigan and the Buckeyes. Klatt wraps up the show with an announcement about the premiere of the 2nd season of the Big Noon Conversations series. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

What happens if Michigan beats Texas? That would be pretty wild. I think people aren't expecting that. What happens if they do it? You know, the boa constrictor. What happens if the boa constrictor is still around? College football has never been better. Interest has never been higher.

I believe that we are at the dawn of the golden age of college football. It was an epic day of college football. It was one of those days where you fall in love with the sport all over again. What's up, everybody? Welcome into the Joel Clash show. I am Joel Clatt. And welcome to another edition here in the offseason. There's no offseason in college football, certainly not anymore. I'm happy that you are with us.

We have got a great episode here today. I'll get into that in just a moment. But first, follow us on YouTube. Make sure to subscribe to the channel. I'm there. You need to be there as well. I comment down below. I try to jump in those comments and conversations,

and we'll continue to do that on almost every single episode that we release on YouTube. so make sure to subscribe there and then like the show, comment below and do all the things. Just a quick update. We are really close to 150,000 subscribers. That would be great if we got there fairly quickly. We are going to do a little prize at some point when we get to the 150,000. An update on the hats. Those of you that did do the 225, 20 reps, the challenge, I've got hats for you coming.

We were just looking, me and the folks here at the Joel Clash show, we were just looking at the design, custom logo hats for you that did. 225, so that's coming up soon. Here's what we want to do, though, today for the show. Ten games that will shape the college football season. Okay, I didn't say the ten most important games or most impactful games or biggest rivalries. These are the games that are really going to shape the season, shape the playoff, shape everything that we've got going in college football, because there's so much going on. Just think about what we're going to encounter once we start kicking things off here this fall.

We've got conference realignment, and we've got a new playoff. Those things are going to be wild. We're going to have matchups that we've never really seen before in conference play, and we're going to have conferences like the Big Ten and the SEC vying for that fourth, maybe even fifth spot in the college football playoff. We're going to have conferences like the ACC and the Big 12, vying to get, obviously, their champion, but also like a second. Can we get a second into the playoffs?

So all of these games that I'm about to talk about are going to share. all of those things, the college football season. Let's get into it. I'm going to go in chronological order, okay? So this is not level of shaping or interest or so on and so forth. This is just chronological order. As we move through the season, here's the games that are going to shape everything that we talk about. Week 1, Sunday, September 1st, USC and LSU in Las Vegas. That's the first matchup, an early Big Ten SEC matchup that could have huge ramifications, obviously, in the two super conferences in their battle for those few playoff spots that are never really going to pop up in terms of those at-large spots. I think USC and LSU are pretty similarly positioned within their conferences, which is a bit of an unknown.

We believe in their coaches. They've got great track record in history. We believe in their locations. They've got great track record and history at each of those schools and programs. And yet, we still don't know in this new iteration of these conferences, where are they going to be at? Where are they going to be at? Are they going to be a top three team in their conference?

Four, five, six? Where do they fall in this new conference? Each of these teams are in that predicament. So let's just think about this for a moment, shaping the season. What happens if USC goes out there and wins this game? All right. Well, then you start thinking about changes the complexion of the Big Ten race. Now you start thinking about the Big Ten as a four, five, six team league, a deep conference.

All of a sudden, the perception, not that it's one way now, but the perception would start to build for the Big Ten. They would have that marquee win in the non-conference. It would be really important if you're getting down to those few playoff spots at the end. we've always said, and I continue to say it during the course of this off season, Lincoln Riley, that guy right there over my right shoulder, those are you watching on YouTube, if he gets a defense, how good can he be? How good can he be? I know that they're losing Caleb Williams.

I understand that. But it hasn't mattered who's been the quarterback for Lincoln Riley. That quarterback is going to be one of the better players in the country. and I saw firsthand Miller Moss in that Holiday Bowl. I thought he was pretty good. I really did. And he's got excellent players around him, Zachariah Branch. I mean, my goodness, right?

They're going to be fine offensively. So it comes down to Deenton Lynn. He brings that Ravens background to USC. He was excellent at UCLA last year. If they get any bit of defense, they will be a tough out. Now you ask yourself like, LSU, what happens if they win? Well, they've got to replace Jaden Daniels, two first round receivers, Malik neighbors and Brian Thomas, and their offensive coordinator, Mike Denbrock.

So there's a lot going on at LSU. These two defenses, by the way, USC and LSU, they were not very good. They were horrible defenses. They both changed coordinators. If LSU wins, then you start to play out their schedule. They should be 5 and 0 when Ole Miss comes to Death Valley in October. Their third hardest game on the schedule then are at home. Ole Miss, their three hardest games, sorry, Ole Miss, Bama, and OU in the finale.

So now if you can beat USC, now all of a sudden, LSU starts having that path towards those at-large playoff spots. That game is going to be a huge game when we're talking about shaping the college football season. So that's week one, September 1st, USC and LSU. Week number two, this is a big one. Huge, huge, huge, huge. Texas at Michigan. By the way, that game's going to be on Big Noon.

On Fox, Gus, Jenny and I will be there to call the game. The fellows will be there with Big Noon kickoff. and we're going to have Texas at Michigan. Steve Sarkeesian B brings the Texas Longhorns up to face the defending national champion who barely resembles themselves, at least as the personnel goes. Remember, everybody is different, nothing has changed at Michigan. At least that's what they hope. This is another Big Ten SEC conference matchup.

By the way, there's four of these this year. If you're looking towards these matchups and these conferences for, let's say that fourth or even fifth spot in the playoff. You've got USCLSU, which I just talked about. This game, Texas, Michigan. You've got Alabama, Wisconsin. By the way, that's a big noon game as well. We'll be there for that one in Madison.

And you've also got LSU and UCLA. You can see like these first two that I'm talking about, they're the ones that are really going to carry the weight. This Texas Michigan game, for number one, it's going to shape the season because we're going to figure out what Michigan is all about. We're going to find out they have run the Big Ten now. for three years. They just won the national championship. They are at the top of college football, and we will find out if they're even close to that that day with Sharon Moore, their new head coach.

Now, I really like Sharon Moore. I've known him for a long time, and this is the guy for the job. There's not a doubt in my mind, but they have got to replace so many great leaders on that team, selfless players like Mike Sain Russel, you just saw hugging Sharon Moore, like Blake Corum the running back, who is just incredible, not only on the field but off. They've recruited pretty well, but they've developed even better. Can they continue to develop? What is their offense going to look like? Is it going to be Alex Orgy at quarterback?

We might not know. Even at that point, Donovan Edwards is back. Kalele Mullings is back in the run game. Colston-Lauveland is back at Tide-in. Their defense has one of the best defensive lines in the country. Kenneth Grant up there with Mason Graham. They are combined. two best defensive tackles in college football.

So it's not going to be easy for Texas. I think that the narrative right now in the off season is that Texas is going to roll up there. They're more talented. They've got their quarterback, Quinn Ewers, and they're just going to beat Michigan. All right, let's just pose this question for a moment. What happens if Michigan beats Texas?

That would be pretty wild. I think people aren't expecting that. What happens if they do it? You know, the boa constrictor. What happens if the bow constrictor is still around and they still can run the football and they still play great defense and they rush the quarterback? All of those things I think would be interesting and then that would reshape the college football year as we are thinking about it. Now, because right now, and I'm including myself in this, I don't hold Michigan in my top four in college football right now in the offseason. Now, if they were to beat Texas, that changes immediately.

again, shaping the season. And then if Texas is able to go in there and defeat the defending national champion, we would again know that they are at the top of the sport, just like their win against Alabama last year in Tuscaloosa. It would be eerily similar at that point, kind of announcing it's like, hey, we're not going anywhere. Texas is back. They're going to have an incredible offensive line,

maybe one of the best in the country, great skill positions, obviously, and Quinn yours. Now, I've got questions about their defense, losing their defensive tackles and losing those defensive tackles, what happens if Michigan runs it 52 times? It's going to be a great game. Again, shaping the college football season.

Early statement opportunity for both programs, early statement opportunities for both the SEC and the Big Ten. Let's stay in week two, September 7th, and we move to a different Big Ten game, this one in the non-conference as well, Colorado at Nebraska. that's my third game shaping the college football season. This one's really important for the Big 12,

namely because we're questioning right now in the new iteration of this playoff with the power of the SEC and the Big 10, is there going to be room for a second team out of the Big 12 in the playoff? Is there going to be room for a second ACC team in the playoff? I'm not sure. I'm not sure. Games like this will go a long way in shaping what we think about who's included in the playoff and what conference they play in. Colorado, Nebraska.

It's really important for the Big 12, in particular because they need those types of head-to-head matchup victories, just like the ACC will need when they face teams out of the SEC. This is going to be a night game in Lincoln. NBC's got the call. If Colorado wins, then we're right back in this scenario that we were early last season, and it might have even more staying power, to be honest with. you. Last year, Colorado early in the season, tough to beat. They were healthy. The depth

issues were not showing up yet. Travis Hunter hadn't gotten hurt yet, and they were tough to beat. If they protect Shador Sanders, they're really good. He's a heck of a player. This is the old school rivalry that I grew up on, by the way. You know, I grew up in Colorado. Like, this is the game that I dreamt of every single year. This is the game that I dreamt of playing when I went to Colorado. So like everything about this game is awesome for me and it's going to shape the season. If Colorado wins, all of a sudden,

we're right back into Dion Mania, just like we were a year ago. It's prime time all over again. If Nebraska wins, that's a very different type of shaping. Let me just take you into a Nebraska win. That would be their toughest test. I think by a substantial margin, on the way to being 7-0 heading in to play Ohio State and Columbus later in the year.

That would be a game in October. If you look at their first four games, they're all at home. U-TEP, Colorado, Northern Iowa, Illinois. Then their next three are at Purdue, home against Rutgers, and at Indiana. They beat Colorado. There's a real likelihood that they're 7-0. Remember, this team was much better than their record indicated. This team was decimated by both injuries and turnovers,

and those turnovers specifically showed up from the quarterback position. What happens if Rayola, their freshman quarterback, comes out and plays really well, in particular early, and beats Colorado at night, at home with that fan base. You're talking about shaping the college football season. All of a sudden, the Big Ten now starts to think, boy, we've got six legitimate teams that could be in the hunt. And by the way, even after a potential loss to Ohio State, let's just say they go to Ohio State and lose,

they could be 8 and 1 when the first playoff rankings come out because they play UCLA at home after Ohio State. So that's why this game against Colorado is so important. We're either going to plunge headlong into prime time mania again, Coach Prime Mania, or Nebraska is going to be for real. So that game is highly interesting and a game that will definitely shape the season. season. Let's move on. Okay, week five. Let's go all the way to week five. So we skip a couple of weeks, September 28th. Huge one out of the SEC, Georgia at Alabama. And we get to find out everything we need to know about the new Alabama. Georgia is going to be either number one or

number two. I would probably suspect number one in the preseason. They're going to be facing Alabama for the first time since, obviously, Bama ended that 29 game winning streak in last year's SEC championship game. Knocked the dogs out of the playoff, by the way. I know that Bama won their last meeting, but Georgia has won the more recent national championships and the legend has stepped down. So this is no longer Kirby Smart as the protege against the master, Nick Sabin. This is a Sabin-less Alabama program.

That's why this game is so interesting. I would argue that the new standard in college. football, even with Michigan as the defending national champion, is Georgia. They're the program that is still intact as far as a program that is a recent national champion winner, a recent 29 game win streak. There are a few snaps away from being back in the playoff and going for a three-peat. Right? Like, we know how Kirby has recruited.

Kirby at this point, I think it's safe to say, is the standard in college football. So now all of a sudden, it's no longer Georgia trying to measure up, take down Alabama, the protege reaching after and trying to beat his mentor. It's in some ways the opposite, even though Kalin DeBore is not the mentee in this case. Alabama will be measuring themselves against Georgia now. That's why this game is so important. and impactful and will shape not only the season, but all of college football.

It will shape exactly what we think of the sport in terms of who holds the standard in the sport. This is a huge test for Kalin-Dabor in the post-Sabin era. That fan base is going to be expecting them to be competitive in this game, obviously. Now, it pays that it's at home. And listen, Kalin-Dibor is a hell of a coach. If he went to anywhere except for Alabama, I'd be like, that's a home run.

But Kalin-Dibor went to a place where he is replacing the best, greatest in history, college football coach that we've ever seen. That's a tall task. It's a tall task. You talk about shaping college football, not just the playoff race, not just the SEC race, but also the overarching sport. Who holds the standard? That's on the line in that game.

Week 6, October 5th. Let's go to the ACC. Clemson at Florida State. The ACC is going to be fighting for a second playoff spot, just like the Big 12 is. And the winner of this game likely puts themselves in a firm, I would say, seat, path, control of a birth in the ACC championship game. It gives them some cushion as it relates to playing for that conference title, which then would get them the automatic birth into the college football playoff. I do not think that the Big 12 in the ACC, in the ACC, excuse me, should rely on, hey, we think we think we're, we're going to get two. They can't rely on that. You've got to get into the game. So that's why this

game will shape the season so dramatically is because the winner of Clemson, Florida State, I believe will have a firm hold on a berth in the game that can potentially put them into the college football playoff. So this game is absolutely impactful when it comes to shaping the season, shaping the conferences, and shaping exactly what this playoff is going to look like. Florida State beat Clemson last year, finally knocking them off, by the way, after losing seven straight. Would a second straight win over Clemson make FSU the new leaders in the ACC? I'm not sure. I'm not sure. I don't know exactly what to expect out of Clemson, but the winner of this game is certainly in control of that conference. Week 7, October 12th,

Oregon State, or excuse me, Ohio State, sorry, travels to Oregon. And you talk about a massive game. Ryan Day travels with a team that a lot of people think could be number one or number two in the preseason. I think I'm probably going to put them at number one. I think it's a toss up, but man, will you look at what they kept? When you look at the value of veteran players, in particular on the defense, I think Ohio State could have the best defense in college football. And you look at the value of veteran players like what we saw at Michigan a year ago, this team is going to be incredible. And now they've got to travel to face an Oregon team that I would also hold in the regard of a top four team in college football. I think there are four

great teams in college football. Maybe some more, and listen, I want to leave myself open for that because obviously it's very early. Georgia and Ohio State, Texas and Oregon, I think those four teams right now are pretty clearly the four best teams in college football, at least right now, okay, and obviously things can change. But Oregon gets their first measuring stick in their new conference. Ohio State is the standard in a lot of ways in the Big Ten, them in Michigan. Now, Michigan's replacing their coach. they're replacing almost their entire roster, and Ohio State is still there.

So in order to win the Big Ten, you know you've got to beat one of those two teams, or both of those teams, Michigan and Ohio State. Oregon's going to have a chance to do both of those. They're going to travel to the Big House later in the season, but this is their first measuring stick. What are we in the Big Ten? Are we going to compete at the highest level in the Big Ten? Now, you know how I feel about Dan Lanning.

I have said this, and I will continue to say it. If I had to buy stock and a young coach right now in college football, it would be Dan Lanning. I love what he does. I love his energy. He has recruited very well. They've got the resources. That's a tough place to play. You know, you think about these teams that are going to need to get themselves in a position to maybe get the buy in the playoff to win the conference in the SEC or the, excuse me, SEC or the Big Ten.

In order to get to that game, you've probably got to win this game. Because of the way the schedules are going to be imbalanced in these conferences, it's not going to shock me if a team like Penn State or a team like Missouri can kind of get themselves into that second position with all the tiebreakers that are going to happen in these kind of open formats. It's not going to surprise me if teams like that can kind of, I don't want to say sneak, but get themselves in position to be in the conference championship game. Now, we all think that Oregon or Ohio State are the odds on favorite to be in that game.

We think Texas and Georgia are the odds on favorite to be in that game in the SEC. But without a win in those head-to-heads, It's not a guarantee. So that's why those games in the regular season are going to be so important. And we're going to get to see Ohio State with a new quarterback, with a new offensive coordinator, and really what I would deem as their first real test of the season. The next week, week eight, it's a game that I just referenced Georgia at Texas. And for all the same kind of reasons that I was just talking about Oregon and Ohio State.

Now, Texas moves into a conference after being in the playoff, thinking that they, you know, we put ourselves on the upper echelon of college football. Steve Sarkeesian has done an incredible job. And now, bam, you get the standard in college football. Two national championships in the last three years, Kirby Smart is there, no one's recruited better than Georgia and you're going to host Georgia. And again, because of the schedules that these two teams play versus the schedule like, let's say, Missouri plays, there's a chance that you're going to get Missouri into the SEC championship game

based on who they play and win. And then the loser of this game, Georgia at Texas, is going to have a very difficult road to get back and qualify in for the SEC championship game. Makes this a monster matchup between I would contend to national title contenders. Georgia has a beast of a schedule. So in a lot of ways, I think that they've got to go win this game. They play the three toughest teams in the SEC all on the road,

at Alabama, at Texas, and at Ole Miss. that makes this game very important. That makes this game vital. Georgia and Texas are favorites to be in that championship game, but it's not a guarantee. It's not a guarantee. So if you want a first round by, if you're Texas or if you're Georgia,

if you want to make your path to a national championship as easy as possible, winning that game is going to be important. Week 9, October 26th, and this is one of those games that's kind of sneaky, and it wouldn't, I don't think it would pop up on a game is like most important, most impactful. Well, you're talking about shaping the season.

Missouri at Alabama. October 26th in week nine, Missouri at Alabama. Missouri is the team that could take advantage of a Georgia or Texas dropping a game or two in the SEC. They're in a perfect position. They bring back Brady Cook as a third year starter. One of the best wide receivers, by the way, in the country, Luther Burden.

He's fantastic. Missouri's sketch. is set up for them to find a way to that championship game. They do not play. They do not play in their conference, Georgia. They do not play Texas. They do not play Ole Miss. They do not play LSU and they do not play Tennessee.

This is their toughest SEC game. If they can beat Alabama, they're going to be in Atlanta. So, like, wrap your minds around that. Like, we just think that it's like, oh, you know, like Texas and Georgia and Ohio State, Oregon, maybe Ohio State Michigan. There are teams that can spoil that in particular with the way that these conference schedules are imbalanced. Again, I'm just going to say that again. Missouri, with a third-year starting quarterback, one of the best wide receivers in the country,

and coming off a really good year, do not play Georgia, do not play Texas. Do not play Ole Miss, do not play LSU, and do not play Tennessee. They're going to be, what, you can get by, if they beat, like, let's say, A&M in their fifth game, they should be 7 and O when they go to Tuscalo. I think they should beat Texas A&M. A win against Bama, and they're in a good position to be, what, third in the country, second in the country at that point, at 8 and 0, and then their final four games after Alabama are as follows.

They are at home to OU. They're at South Carolina. they're at Mississippi State and then they've got Arkansas at home. Folks, that is an incredibly manageable schedule. And that's why I think Missouri could be a sneaky team that gets to Atlanta. And that's why that game against Alabama is going to be so important. All right, week 10, November 2nd, Ohio State at Penn State. This is a similar game to what I just talked about with Missouri and Alabama.

This has been the hurdle for Penn State is trying to beat Ohio State. State and Michigan, to be fair. By the way, they don't play Michigan this year. So now they've got Ohio State. They've got them at home. I think it's one of the great home environments in all of college football. I really do. A win in Happy Valley over Ohio State would put Penn State in the absolute prime spot

to go play for the Big Ten title. The 2022 class, they're all now juniors. That is Drew Aller, Nick. Singleton, Ketron Allen, Abdul Carter. Like we've pointed at this class, this is a really talented class. This is a good football team. Andy Kodalnicki comes in as their offensive coordinator. Tom Allison, the former head coach at Indiana, he's now the defensive coordinator.

Their schedule at Penn State is manageable. Maybe not quite as easy. I don't want to say easy as Missouri's, but like Missouri's is the one that you look at their schedule and you're like, wow, that's crazy. see the path. Penn State is similar, although not quite as smooth. They open with a really tricky game at West Virginia. By the way, that's going to be on Big Noon. That'll be a Fox game. Gus Ginny and I will be there. Big Noon kickoff will be there. West Virginia won nine games last year. Three games stretch that will go a long way in determining their season. Penn State. They're at

USC, which that game looks totally different based on the first game that I talked about, LSU and USC, but they're at USC. They've got a buy week, then they're at Wisconsin, and then they're home to Ohio State. That three-week stretch right there is going to tell you everything that you need to know about James Franklin and the Nittney Lions. And by the way, if Ohio State is just rolling through, if they're able to beat Oregon on the road, if they're able to beat Penn State on the road, then it's like, yep, that's a national title contender. That is a national title contender, and maybe favorite at that point. And then the last game that I would talk about, and you can't talk about games that shaped college football without talking about this game, week 13, November

30th, that's right, it's the game, Michigan at Ohio State. You just think of the ramifications, and this is the one that's similar to like Georgia and Alabama. It's like this game in so many ways is going to shape the sport for the foreseeable future. Like Alabama now trying to measure themselves against Georgia and Kirby Smart, now all of a sudden Ohio State is having to measure up against Michigan. Michigan is the one that has won the national championship and been 15 and 0. Michigan is the one that is 3-0 in the last three years against Ohio State. Michigan is the one that is the three-time defending Big Ten champion.

Ryan Day and the Buckeyes have to win this game. They're hosting this game. They've lost three straight, and they need it. They need it badly. And I think that their activity this offseason signals that. Ryan Day gave up play calling duties. He brings in Chip Kelly. he goes out, raises an incredible amount of money,

and they retain a veteran roster in particular on defense and great players on the offensive side. Emeka Abuka is back. Travion Henderson is back. JT. Tuimolo is back. Jack Sawyer is back. I mean, you go down the list. They get premium transfers.

Quinchan Junkins is now a running back for them. Caleb Downs is now a safety for them. The roster is incredible. The defense is incredible. There's an insane amount of pressure on the coaching staff in Columbus right now. There just is. This could be a rematch for the following week in Indianapolis.

And Ohio State could be looking to spoil a potential playoff birth for Michigan. Michigan's got a really tough schedule. They've got to play USC. They've got to play Texas. They've got to play Ohio State. They've got to play Oregon. You're not getting into the playoff with four losses.

And so depending how quickly short, Ron Moore gets all these new players going, Ohio State could be playing to knock Michigan out of the playoff. Talk about shaping the season. That game is about as important as any game in college football this year. So those are the 10 games. All right. Hey, coming up next week, it is returning. I am so proud to announce that Big Noon Conversations is coming back. I am thrilled. We have had an unbelievable spring recording a lot of these interviews with the best and brightest, biggest names in college football. We've had some great conversations. I am incredibly fortunate and appreciative for these guys taking time to sit down and talk about themselves, their programs. So Big Noon Conversations. So Big Noon

with the Joel Clash show is coming back next Monday. Monday, June 10th, we will be debuting the Sharon Moore episode. The head coach of the Michigan Wolverines will be with us next Monday, as we will start to drop every Monday after that for the next eight Mondays. We will drop a new conversation, and I couldn't be more proud of our team. We've worked incredibly hard this spring. I think you're going to really enjoy it. So those are coming next week.

I cannot wait for those. I appreciate you listening. Remember to go subscribe on YouTube. Leave a comment below, like the video, and do all the things. We'll see you next week when Big Noon Conversations return.