The Joel Klatt Show: A College Football Podcast - Alabama makes statement, Colorado controls destiny to make Big 12 champ game & Georgia in trouble?

Episode Date: November 11, 2024

FOX Sports' lead college football analyst Joel Klatt recaps Ole Miss' huge win over the Georgia Bulldogs and breaks down whether Dawg fans should be concerned about their team missing the playoff. He praises Alabama for their dominant win over the LSU Tigers and discusses who he thinks has the best chance to make the SEC Championship game. Klatt believes Travis Hunter is the clear favorite for the Heisman trophy as Colorado sits in 2nd place in the conference and controls their own destiny to make the Big 12 Championship game. He discusses BYU's comeback win over Utah and whether he agrees with the 4th and 10 holding call. Indiana is 10-0 for the first time ever, and Klatt answers if their close win over a mediocre Michigan team changes the perception of their unbeaten season. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Travis Hunter is one of one. Period. He is the favorite by a wide margin for the Heisman trophy. College football has never been better. Interest has never been higher. 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.

Hey, welcome back into the program. This is Joel Clashy. I'm Joel Clat and we are brought to you by. by Hampton by Hilton. What a day of college football like it always is. And we're here to talk about it. So thank you for joining us as always. And remember our show is wherever you like to get your podcast. So when you're there, rate and review us, please. We would really appreciate that. If you're watching on YouTube, first of all, congratulations, good for you. Subscribe to the show, please. And then hit that notification button. And you'll always know when our content drops.

And then wherever you like to social media, we are there. That's right. All the places at Joel Clat Show is where you can find us on all the social media. Okay, we got to get into this day of college football because it was really great. The first thing that I've got to get into is the fact that, let's face it, last week, I might have questioned Old Miss a little bit. That's right. Pick some previews. I believe I said something to the effect of when was the last time Ole Miss won a big game?

I'll wait. Well, I'm not waiting anymore, am I? Good for you. Ole Miss, that was a terrific win over Georgia at home, the rain, the whole scene. And you know what, Ole Miss dominated the game. 2810, they get the win over the Georgia Bulldogs, and now Georgia has a couple of losses. Some takeaways just overall from that game. First and foremost, Georgia is not right.

Like, they are not right. As much as Ole Miss was terrific, and they were, in particular, like defensive line play was really good for Old Miss. I felt like they needed, they did what they needed to do on the offensive side of the football, even with all the conditions. So that was good against a very good Georgia defense. I've always loved the Georgia defense. You guys know that. But there is something clearly wrong right now with the Georgia Bulldogs on the offensive side of the ball.

You look up now. This is a team that is 50th in college football and total offense. The drop is staggering from what we've seen over the last. couple of years and they still have their quarterback. You know, they've been a top five offense each of the last two years. They are 50th. It's not even close to what the expectation is for Georgia. The way that they've recruited, the way that they've played,

this is quite shocking to see them play to this level. I turned on the film and I watched that game and here's what jumps off the film right away. Number one, again, they have a short field touchdown drive, and that's the only way that they score a touchdown. It was very similar to the Texas game in that they couldn't drive the length of the field. So when they face a team that has anything on the defensive side, they really struggle sustaining drives. Part of that is the fact that they can't stay on the field on third down. Now, everyone's going to look to Carson Beck and say like, well, clearly Beck is not playing very well, but that's not what the film suggests. Now, I'm not going to sit here

and tell you that he's playing great because he's not and he can improve and there's no doubt and he would admit that. But I am telling you it is not his issue. It is not his fault. The issue with Georgia mainly lies in the five guys up front. The offensive line is playing really poorly. And that's a problem for them because this is an offensive line that over the last couple of years has been able to mall people and been able to control the game and the line of scrimmage. And they're not doing that. And they certainly didn't do that against Ole Miss. And again, I touched on this.

Ole Miss on the defensive line played great. They were aggressive. They were up the field and they were disruptive. The entire game, I just felt like there was a disruptive nature to the front seven for Ole Miss. And because of that, Beck had no time. There is a disconnect right now in the timing of their offense, speaking of Georgia, in that the wide receivers are not.

not breaking to where their, I would call their route structures should be, the pictures, the spacing. That's not being created at the timing in which Beck is ready to throw. So there is a massive disconnect between the skill position players of Georgia and their quarterback Carson Beck. So he's ready to throw. He's got a way to beat and then the protection breaks down. And if you're a Bulldog fan, you're like, yep, that's exactly what I saw all day long.

So now you look up, Beck has 14 turnovers over his last six games, although let's be honest, like the tipped ball pick. Is that his issue? No, and that's why Kirby didn't blame him after the game. And rightly so, Kirby saw what I saw out there. You know, Ole Miss had five sacks. They owned the line of scrimmage. Georgia couldn't really sustain a ground game.

Couldn't sustain a drive. Third downs, too many drop passes. That is a mainst, of the Georgia film. When you turn it on, you see at least two, three, four drops a game. A game. There are teams that go months with only two drops, three drops. They have three, four, sometimes five a game. I get it with the conditions. Those conditions were rough. And we all know that. But man, there was some ejecto pads going on for the Bulldogs on the outside. I think Georgia's in trouble because nothing on that film suggested that they were going to

figure something out in time to play Tennessee because I think Tennessee's defense is actually a little bit better than Ole Miss's defense. Again, I don't want to take anything away from Old Miss. Ole Miss was terrific. And now they are in a position where they control their fate in a lot of ways. But now Georgia's got to go see Tennessee. And Tennessee, their defense is really, really good, really good. So now you go and you face Tennessee, thank goodness for Georgia, that game is going to be at home in Athens. But an 8-1 Tennessee team comes in with a defense that can get after it.

The pause I have in just right now saying that like, hey, the 9 and a half favorite for Georgia is just too much is the fact that there's been so many injuries for Tennessee. You've got injuries at skill, you've got injuries at quarterback. We'll see if EMA-Lava is, is, right and if he's ready to play. So we'll see. I'm not saying that they're going to go out there and lose to Tennessee, but I am going to tell you this.

They're going to struggle driving the length of the field against the Vol defense. The Vol defense is at least in the top two defenses in the conference, and they will struggle driving the length of the field. Here's what I see now when you look at the totality of the Georgia year so far. We're now here at what if I'm recording this on a Sunday night, so this is November 10th. I kind of take stock of Georgia, and you start to realize that the outlier moments for Georgia are not the poor play. It's actually the great play. You see, in previous years, we've seen

these games, I remember Missouri a couple of years ago on the road, Kentucky at times, and we saw with the benefit of hindsight those years that the anomaly, the outlier, was the poor play. this year it looks different for Georgia because the outlier is actually the quality play, the second half against Clemson, the second half against Alabama, the first half against Texas. Outside of that, there's not a lot of moments in the season where you're just like, man, Georgia was Georgia. They were great. So that's a problem. Because now they're sitting there with two losses.

They cannot lose another game. I'm about to talk about all the SEC, but like the SEC will have a 10-and-2 team that gets left out of the playoff. So just think about that. So Georgia, their backs are against the wall. They are in a must win now at home against Tennessee, who's a very good football team. That's not a good spot to be in. That's not a spot that Georgia wants to be in. So, you know, we'll see how they play in that one.

Ole Miss, credit to you. I questioned Old Miss before the game. I didn't think that they were up to the task. I had thought to myself, like, no one beats Georgia, you know, and certainly it's not an Ole Miss team that hasn't really won at the top end. Yeah, they've been very good, but they haven't like leveled up in the sport. Well, that was leveling up because they handled them. They totally handled them in particular at the line of scrimmage.

So Ole Miss is a real team that LSU loss is going to haunt them because they had to lead the entire game until the very end when LSU all of a sudden wins that game. And you look up and it's like, this team should be nine and one and probably fourth in the country. But they lose that game that they shouldn't. And that's why Lane Kiffin at the end of that LSU game was so sick because he knew that it was going to affect them for the remainder of the season. And you can now finally start to see that. So are they definitely in if they went out? I think so. I think so. And that's where we get to kind of like all these 10 and 2s. And to include the 10 and 2 conversation, you've got to also include Alabama who went and took care of business on the road at night in Death Valley against LSU in a dominant win. A dominant win. That was impressive from Alabama. Now Alabama is a two-loss team that has some, I think, cred.

you go into Death Valley and beat them 42-13. Like, that's something now. That's an old-miss team that just beat Georgia that lost to LSU. And what did we learn about LSU during the course of the last few weeks? They cannot stop a running quarterback. So I told you before the game that Jalen Milro was going to run crazy, and that's exactly what he did. This is a Milrow-Hisman campaign that, like, gets kick-started right at the right moment in November.

because up and to this point, I was pretty confident in leaving him out of even a five-man list. But now after that performance, 109 through the air, 185 on the ground, four rushing TDs, it's like, oh, yeah, definitely, definitely Jalen Milrow is involved in the Heisman conversation. And this team is like right back in the hunt, right back in the thick of things. It has looked, I'll just say it, bumpy. At some points during this season, in the first season for Kalin DeBoer, I think we can all acknowledge that. It's looked bumpy at times.

But Alabama rolled out there against LSU and did what they needed to do. And they dominated LSU. It was not a close football game. It wasn't close at all. And a big part of that was the fact that LSU cannot stop the running quarterback. And it's a problem when something pops up, and there's a question that arises in your program, and then it perpetuates, that's a problem. And that's what Brian Kelly has got to fix.

And that's what Alabama and Milro exploited. You looked up and it's like they've outscored their opponents 76 to 13 in two games since that lost to Tennessee. So something happened with them. Kalin DeBore is a very good football coach. I know that everyone wanted to throw dirt on him and say, this ain't Nick Sabin. And you know what? You're right. It's not Nick Sabin.

and it's Kalyn DeBore and he's damn good. And you see them now answering those questions. You see them being resilient and growing and progressing as a team and as a program. I thought that that was really good. It calls into question then like, so who wins the SEC? Like who's the best team in the SEC? So after last weekend, Georgia takes a second loss. So now Ole Miss has two losses.

Bama has two losses. LSU, they've got three. They're probably out. you know, Missouri is, their coach, Eli Drinkowitz, is trying to tell everybody that they're in the playoff hunt, but they're not. They're not even close to the playoff hunt. They've got two losses. The only two road games that they've played in SEC play on the road, they've lost 75 to 10 combined. So Missouri is out, but you've got all these other teams now. You've got A&M at 5 and 1, and Tennessee at 5 and 1, and Texas at 5 in 1. So there's your top crew.

And you're like, okay, those teams could possibly get to Atlanta and play for an SEC title as a one-loss team. But do we think that we're going to get two teams to the SEC title game as just a one-loss team? Becomes pretty murky. Tennessee is going to go to Athens and be close to a 9.9.5 point dog. And Texas and Texas A&M still have to play each other. So do we get two teams at one loss in the SEC championship game? Probably not. Probably not. Which then leads to the next question. Of the 10 and 2s, potentially, who's going?

This is going to get crazy. Look at all the two lost teams in the SEC. You've got Georgia at 5 and 2. You've got Alabama, 4 and 2, Ole Miss 4 and 2. Ole Miss has a win over Georgia. Alabama has a win over Georgia. you've got LSU at 3 and 2, but I don't love them, and Missouri at 3 and 2, and I don't love them. So now you're really looking at like six teams.

I call them the 6 above the line teams because LSU with three losses total is not going to the playoffs. And Missouri, even at 10 and 2, with two losses on the road in the SEC by a combined 75 to 10, they're not going to the playoffs. That is out. So now you're looking at the top three and the next three, A&M, Tennessee, Texas, Georgia, Alabama, Ole Miss. All of those teams ain't going to the playoff. I'm just telling you right now, I'm telling you right now.

There is going to be a 10-and-2 team out of the SEC that is left out of this playoff. It is going to happen. And I've been screaming this from the rooftops for a long time since really pre-season. I've been telling you, 9 and 3 is not cutting it. It is not cutting it. You are not getting into the playoff at 9 and 3.

everybody was talking about, well, with the 12-team playoff, we've expanded. So, of course, a 9-3 team in the SEC is going to go to the college football playoff. That's not the case. That is not the case. And I'm telling you that a 10-and-2 team is going to get left out. And the problem is they've all beat each other. You know, Bama and Ole Miss now have the win over Georgia. Georgia has a win over Texas, so Texas better not lose the game against Texas A&M.

If Texas loses a Texas A&M, we might think a 10-2 Texas is totally safe. But at that point, remember, Texas's best win would be Vandy. So it's like, are we sure that everybody is safe? And the answer is actually no. The answer is actually no. I don't know who controls their own destiny in this because it could be an an entire disaster at the end of the year as far as two lost teams tied in the SEC. It could be crazy. Now, who do I think is the best? let me just give that opinion. I still think Texas is the best team in the SEC.

They are the most balanced on offense. They have an answer at quarterback if their starter doesn't play well. And I think that they have the best defense in the conference. Remember, they have yet to give up 300 yards or more in a game. This is a very good defense. They gave up a ton of short fields because their starting quarterback played terrible. And around him, they played terrible. in one half against Georgia.

They just did, and they got beat. It's a long season. I still think Texas is the best team. Does that mean that they definitely beat Texas A&M and go to the SEC championship game? I'm not totally sure about that. The SEC man is murky. And again, if you take anything from what I'm talking about right now,

it's these two things. Georgia's in trouble, and there will be a 10-and-2 SEC team left out of the playoff. That is deep in my bones. That is absolutely going to happen this year. So start preparing for that, SEC fans, because you're going to be screaming your faces off if and when that happens. Another game that was just like, I thought an incredible game and an intense atmosphere

was that Colorado Texas Tech game. So Colorado is having everything break their way now in the Big 12. Last week, they didn't even play a game. They had Kansas State go down and Iowa State go down. So it was like, holy cow, like that's exactly what they needed to happen because now they actually are above Kansas State in the standings, the team that they lost to. And if Iowa State were to lose one more game,

they could even control their own destiny to go to the Big 12 championship games. So they go down to Texas Tech, and that is a charged environment, man. I tell you, Texas Tech had the Patrick Mahomes unies on, those design. they jumped this Buffs team, jumped them. They were up 13-0-0 in the first quarter, and it did not look good for Colorado. They marched right down the field. They were running it. They were throwing it.

The defense was playing very well. Shadur and that offense could not move the football. It's 13-0. We get into the second quarter, and everything changed. Bam, on a dime. And all of a sudden, Texas Tech couldn't move the football because Colorado's defense is real. They go on a 34-7 run after that 13-0 deficit. They showed speed on the outside on offense, a willingness to run the football.

Shadura was great with the football, as he always is, and then the main point, the defense was incredible. They really were. The defensive line showed out. This defensive line had six sacks and 10 TFLs tackle for loss. They didn't do that last year. Last year, if they fell down 13-0, and it was like, oh, this is not working out. The defense was totally porous. This defense is real.

This is absolutely one of, if not the best team in the Big 12 conference. They're getting better every single week. They beat this team pretty handily, which was a decent to quality Texas Tech team that just beat an Iowa state team in Ames the previous week. And they did it on the back of a 34-7 run. I'm telling you guys, like, this is not just flash. and I've been saying this for a long time, but Colorado is a real football team, largely because of what they do

at the line of scrimmage on the defensive side. Again, you look up against Tech on Saturday, six sacks, 10 tackles for loss. It was quite impressive, quite impressive. That is an upper tier, Big 12 team that was playing at home

in a charged environment with tortillas flying all over the place. Joey McGuire is getting on the microphone and he's screaming at the fans. Hey, stop the throwing stuff on the field. He's got his thick accent. I love Joey McGuire. He's just like oozes Texas football. If you draw a picture of a coach that you think should be the Texas Tech football coach, you draw Joey McGuire. I really like Joey McGuire. He's excellent. He's excellent. Everything there suggests that Colorado should have wilted after the first quarter in a 13-0

deficit. They go on a 34-7 run, six sacks, 10 TFLs. Defense played fantastic. And guess who else played fantastic. Travis Hunter. Wow. Folks, like, I get it. Some of you don't want to hear about Colorado, but it's real. The team is now, because of Kansas's win over Iowa State on Saturday, Colorado controls their own destiny in the Big 12. Gus, Ginny, and I are heading to Boulder this week as they take on Utah, and they are the Big Noon Saturday game. So here we go. We've got to showcase game in Boulder in November. They are 7 and 2. They are ranked, and this is only the second time since I played that they're 7 and 2. I am old. I'm 42. I played at Colorado. My last year was 2005. 2005. And this is only the second time they've been 7 and 2.2. And this is two years removed from

one and 11 and those 11 losses by an average of 29 points. Somebody, somebody, please, tell me Dion Sanders can't coach. I can't believe that that's a narrative that has been perpetuated over the last year and a half. It is maddening because just look up and look at what this team is doing. And his protege, not talking about his son, Shador is great. Shadour is great. I think he's the best quarterback in college football. I think he's going to get taken as the number one quarterback in the National Football League draft next spring.

But Travis Hunter is a unicorn. Total unicorn. And I just want to appreciate what he is doing and what we're seeing because we're never going to see this again. Okay. There comes a time when as a sports fan, you've got to sit back and actually take stock in what you're witnessing. I think a lot of us do that when we watch LeBron play or those of us that got to watch Michael Jordan play. I'm sure this is how people felt when they watched Mickey Mantle play

or how I felt when I got to stand there when I was a minor league baseball player and watch Barry Bonds take batting practice or when we watch Tiger Woods hit a golf ball. You know, like there are things that we just know we're never going to see again. And this is one of those things. Travis Hunter is one of one, period. He is the favorite by a wide margin for the Heisman Trophy. Nobody is doing anything close to what he's doing right now.

He played 170 snaps against Texas Tech. 170. That is absurd. Now, to be fair, I take that from PFF, and they include penalty snaps. So in an official ledger, it's not 170, but to be fair, it is 170 because in an official ledger, they'll take away like, well, that snap didn't count because there was an accepted penalty, right? So you replay first down or whatever it is.

But that other snap happened. So like the snap that he actually got the interception on that ridiculous interception where there was an offside, and the official ledger that doesn't count as a snap. Does for me, 170. Thank you very much. Travis is incredible, man. And here's the thing. You look up at the end of the day, he's got nine catches, 99 yards, a touchdown.

His touchdown was terrific. He's played 170 snaps. He is going to win the Heisman if Colorado gets to the Big 12 championship game. And he should. And he should because no one else is doing this. Like all due respect to Ashton Genty, you're having a great year. But like a Mountain West running back is not winning the Heisman trophy over a guy that's in the Big 12 doing what he's doing on both sides of the ball.

He's going to be a finalist for the Thorpe Award. He's going to be a finalist for the Bolitnikoff Award. And he might win one of them. And he probably should win the Thorpe because no one even throws to him. I had someone tell me like, well, his defensive statistics are like, they're non-existent. Yes, so were Dion Sanders. And you know why?

Because no one threw at him. He's that dominant. He's taking away a side of the field, a player from the offense. So like Travis is doing things that I'm just like, that's incredible. I can't wait to go and watch him on Saturday. And again, just to appreciate what we're seeing because Travis Hunter is one of one. And he is right now the favorite for the Heisman Trophy, period. Period.

I really don't care what anybody else is doing because they're not doing what he's doing. What he's doing is completely, completely uncommon, which brings me to my one gripe with Colorado. It seemed like late in that game, they had an opportunity to seize control after the defense was playing so well in creating turnovers. With about eight minutes, nine minutes, eight minutes, you know, 730 left. They get the ball up a couple of scores in the plus territory. And it felt like they were trying to pad Travis's stats. It was like, oh, now it's time for like the Hunter for Heisman part of the game. You don't need to do that.

You don't need to do that. He does not need any help. Because he's a unicorn. If he just plays the way he plays, then all Colorado needs to do to help Hunter win the Heisman, just get to the Big 12 championship game. If they do that two years after being 1 and 11 with what he's doing, then yeah, they're going to go. And they probably will be playing if they are able to get there, BYU. Why?

Because BYU won an absolute stunner over Utah. Holy cow. No, not Holy Cow, because that was wild. If you didn't see it, Utah, for all intensive purposes, wins the football game and played great in the face of some real adversity. But on fourth down with a minute 34 left, they get a sack and all of a sudden there's a defensive holding call thrown. And I'm telling you, this is going to be like the holding call. heard around the world because this holding call just brought the absolute fire. The place goes crazy. Kyle Whittingham is on the field. He's screaming at the officials. And so it causes

everyone to then go and watch the playwalk. What are they so upset about? Was it a flag? Was it not a flag? You know, for me, it's 50-50. Do I love the call? No. Did Utah have more chances to get off the field. Yes, did BYU all the sudden out of nowhere? Because they hadn't really moved the football all that well all night long and certainly hadn't protected the quarterback very well. And all of a sudden, they put together this drive, credit to them, because that took a lot of fortitude. But after they were given that lifeline, they were able to drive down and they kick the field goal and bang. They win the game 22, 21, kick it with under five seconds left. And it was mayhem. Absolute

mayhem. Credit to BYU for that. They took advantage of the situation, but that's not where the fireworks stopped because the athletic director, Mark Harlan, of Utah, said this after the game. This game was absolutely stolen

from us. We were excited about being Big 12, but tonight I am not. We won this game. Someone else stole it from us. Very disappointed. I I will talk to the commissioner. This was not fair to our team.

I'm disgusted by the professionalism of the officiating crew tonight. Thank you. All right. So let me tell you how that conversation with the commissioner went. The commissioner said, you're fined 40 grand. That's how. And that is how it went. So he was disciplined, fine $40,000 for his actions, both during and after the game.

because during the last kickoff, so after the field goal, there's three seconds left, there's still a kickoff, and he's out on the field during the kickoff return yelling at the officials. Mark Harlan was, the athletic director. I know Mark. Mark is a great guy, and he's a terrific athletic director, and I think he was just caught up in the heat of the moment. And I think Brett Your Mark, even the commissioner, knows that as well. So that brings us to the actual call. Okay.

Let's talk about this call, because obviously, BYU fans are going to sit there and say like, hey, man, it's a hold. And, you know, some out there are saying like, that is a textbook holding call. Okay. You know, I'm fine with that. Now, there are Utah fans that are sitting there and saying to themselves like, what? That?

At that moment in the game? And you know what? I see your point is as well. And so you might be sitting yourself and you're saying like, Joel, no, you can't see both sides of this coin. And you know what? You're right. So that's why I went to the data. And I, why did I go to the data? Well, because it doesn't matter what actually happened on that snap. And I know that sounds strange, but it's true. And let me explain. I believe that that call, all game, is something that has to be established and then it has to be consistent. It's just like a strike zone.

okay, because it's subjective. I see this every week. The most difficult thing to officiate in college football, and in NFL football, by the way, is the defensive back wide receiver contact. It is the hardest thing to officiate because it's subjective. So because it's subjective, and there is some great area, you have to establish the rules for that day

and then make sure that it's consistent. So why do I go to the data? Well, because I want to see the way it was called the rest of the game. You've got to go to the film. You've got to go to the stat sheet. You've got to say to yourself, how did they allow these players to play the rest of the game? Because listen, I was a minor league baseball player,

and any of us that have played baseball or I don't care, Bear League softball, whatever it is, here's what is just going to drive you crazy, is that one pitch is a ball in the seventh inning and a strike in the ninth. That can't happen. That can't happen. And that's what most people get infuriated with is a lack of consistency. It's not that you made a call in the gray area.

Those calls happen all the time. So I'm not going to talk about that call. But what I am going to talk about is what was established before that call. And here's what the data suggests. If you look back, Utah was not called. all day for a defensive pass interference or a defensive holding, not one until that moment. And BYU only had one defensive pass interference called on them,

and that was back in the first quarter. So with that lens, now you've got to go back to the play, and you've got to say to yourself, was this contact more egregious then all the other contact that had got on with the Utah defensive backs that night. Because if you told through not calling a flag, not throwing a flag,

if you told the defensive back that he could play a certain way every snap of the game. And then in the most important snap of the game, you said, no, you can't play that way. That's a problem. That's a problem. my issue with the call on Saturday against Utah is that it clearly was inconsistent. It's not that I thought it was or wasn't because it is a gray area.

If anyone tells you that it's textbook this or textbook that, they're lying to you. They're lying to you because it's subjective. That is a 50-50 call. So what matters, and this is the only thing that matters, is what was allowed to happen the rest of the game. Because by my account, what was allowed to happen was some contact. And then now all of a sudden contact is not allowed on a fourth down inside of a minute and 35 seconds when you get a sack and you think that you win the game.

That's my problem with the call. It's clearly inconsistent, clearly, clearly, clearly inconsistent. BYU fans are going to hate that. Utah fans are going to love that. But that's the facts of the matter. So we move on. Indiana with a huge win, by the way, over Michigan. And they kind of survived in this game, yes, but I tell you why this was big for Indiana. This was big for Indiana because it's still Michigan.

This is still a brand for an Indiana team that you need to get over. It's kind of a hump. It's a roadblock. Why? Because they don't generally beat Michigan. So Indiana needed to do this for a psyche and for the psyche of the locker room. the confidence that they can take now from this game and move forward. And then here's what I would say.

If I'm watching that game with some objectivity, I would just tell you that was a better version of Michigan than we've seen most weeks. In fact, I think the second half Michigan played, maybe one of their better halves of football that we've seen all year. Maybe the first half against Minnesota was up there with one of their better halves, and then that second half against Indiana.

So if you're Indiana, you've got to take that as a silver lining. You win at 20 to 15. Yeah, the ending was kind of wonky. And did Michigan handle that all that well in the last five, six minutes? Probably not. But at the same time, that's not Indiana's job to make sure that Michigan handles it right. Their job is to go win the football game and to make the plays necessary to win the football game, which they did. Which they did.

This is a team that is 10 and 0. Is their resume great? No, it's not, but they're 10 and 0. And I watch this team and I see them handle a defense that has all those first rounders, in particular on the defensive line. I see an offense that is in rhythm. I see a team that has some balance to it, a defense that showed up and played very well in big moments, in particular on third downs.

This is what I see from Indiana. Now, if you were to look at my poll on Saturday night and you, say to yourself like, well, why do you love Indiana and you put BYU at 11? Because I don't sense that there is that game, that let down game from Indiana, like I inevitably feel like there might be from BYU. It's the same thing I felt with Miami. Like the way Miami was playing, they were playing with fire and they were going to get beat. And it happened. And I'll have more on that in just a second. That's how I feel about BYU. They did not play very well against Utah. and listen, by my account, I don't really feel like they deserve to win the game.

They took advantage. They took advantage of the situation and did win the game. But Indiana is going out there and winning football games. They beat Michigan. They handled Michigan. They are cohesive on the offensive side. Their rhythm through their quarterback on offense is very good. It's very good. They've got experienced players in a lot of places. And that's one of the reasons why I think this was a huge positive and a stepping stone for Indiana. now the big test. Now the big test. Can Indiana go play with Ohio State?

Because Ohio State, that team is really good. I saw them on Saturday. They beat Purdue. That game was never really in question. But man, they got to play a lot of backups. And now Indiana is rolling into Columbus in a couple of weeks. So Ohio State's going to have to go to Wrigley Field and play Northwestern. And then they'll welcome Indiana into the shoe in a couple of weeks. And yes, Gus Ginny and I will be there. although I don't know if that's official. So I might not have, I maybe shouldn't have said that. But you know what? I don't know what to tell you.

I just mentioned this. Miami finally loses. They were like a drunk chasing a balloon next to a cliff. This was inevitable. When you are not balanced in this sport, you're going to get beat. And they were not balanced. And I'm not just talking about running and throwing. I'm talking about the ability to play well on the defensive side and the offensive side.

and they had been toying with losses for weeks, weeks, and really should have been beat before this. They are a one-dimensional team led by a great quarterback, and I'm a huge fan of Cam Ward, and I like this Miami team offensively, but they do not stop people on the defensive side. That's all, you know, and they didn't have any margin for error. And more specifically, Cam didn't have any margin for error in any of these games. and now as a team, they have no margin for error because they better win the rest of their games, go to the ACC Championship game and win it because one more loss and they're not going to the playoff. So they've put themselves in quite a bind.

Prior to this, when they were undefeated and sharing that undefeated rank with SMU and the ACCC, I thought there was a path where Miami could get to the ACC championship game, maybe lose it, and be a one-loss conference champ game loser, and still go. Now I don't see that path, not as a two loss. Not when we know, because of what I told you earlier, that there is likely going to be a 10 and 2 SEC team that is left out. That 10 and 2 SEC team is going to have a better resume than a 2 loss ACC conference championship game loser.

That's just the case. That's the facts of the matter. So Miami is up against it. They've got no room for error the rest of the year. SMU still sitting there at 5 and 0. and I sit there and I look at SMU at 5 and O, and I think to myself, look at the standings around around college football. They're in sole possession, the Mustangs.

Pony up, SMU, sole possession of first place in the ACCC. BYU, sole possession of first place in the Big 12. Texas A&M sitting up there, first place in the SEC. Indiana up there tied for first in the Big Ten. What do all these teams have in common? Nobody thought anything of them in the preseason. Nobody. You look up and BYU was picked to finish 13th in the Big 12th.

SMU was picked to finish seventh in the ACC. A&M, picked to finish ninth in the SEC. Indiana? Pick to finish 17th in the Big. 10. This is why college football is so great right now. The conference leaders in the four power conferences are BYU, SMU, A&M, and Indiana. God bless this sport. This is awesome. All of you clowns that said that the regular season was going to be ruined with a playoff you are wrong.

I'm just going to put it as lightly as I can possibly put it. You were wrong. You were wrong. This is awesome. This is awesome. And guess what? It's not just awesome at the top of these conferences. Because I'm here to tell you, one of my favorite things in our sport,

one of my favorite things in our sport, is watching teams that clearly don't have playoff aspirations, in particular based on how they play early in the season. And yet they continue to develop. They continue to practice hard, get better, play hard, and start winning football games. I'm telling you it's one of my favorite things. And so I just want to touch on a couple of teams right now that have done that.

And I want to call out their praises because they're not going to be discussed in a playoff format. I'm never going to discuss them in terms of the games that they're playing that have all these implications for a playoff this and a playoff that. But guess what? They're still playing this sport and some of them at a high level and they're developing. And they were out of the playoff hunt weeks ago, weeks ago. Two teams I want to touch on. And there are more than this, but two specifically just because of the way that they started and the way they're playing right now. Number one, UCLA. UCLA Bruins. let's go. Deshawn Foster has done a remarkable job with that team.

Eric B. Enemy, their offensive coordinator, everybody there. They have done a remarkable job. And they were left for dead. And everyone early in the season, including me, by the way, I was like, man, that team is no good. That team is bad. Part of this is you look up now and you're like, hold on, time out. Their losses are to very good football teams. You look up and they've had now three straight wins.

They beat Rutgers, they beat Nebraska, they beat Iowa. Nebraska and Iowa, that's nothing to scoff at. A couple of those on the road, Ruckers and Nebraska. So UCLA is getting much better. Good for them. They started 1 in 5. We left them for dead. And then we realized that four of those five losses were to Indiana, LSU, Oregon, Penn State.

Those are good football teams. And then their fifth loss, Minnesota. in a game that they had the lead 1714 with about two minutes to go and the ball, and they didn't go forward on fourth down on their own 17 yard line. They punted it away. Minnesota drives and scores and they lose. That's what happened. Like they should have won that game.

So UCLA, Deshawn Foster, slow clap for you. Again, not in the playoff race, but now you're sitting here and it's like that program's developing and I'm hoping that they can recruit really well because they're clearly building something there. Okay, next team that I want to touch on is just like, good for you. South Carolina. South Carolina now, third straight win after that close loss to Bama. They're six and three now, by the way.

Two of their losses were three-point loss to LSU, two-point loss to Bama. And now you look up and they're just winning football games. They won that big one against, oh, who I'm a blanking, Texas A&M last week. Shane Beamer, baby. let's go. This, folks, it's not all. It's not all. Just about who's going to get into the 12-team playoff.

It's not. There are teams and players, hundreds of them, if not thousands of them, that are straining and pushing to try to better themselves as men and as football players and as teams every week. And so just to acknowledge a couple of those teams, I just wanted to do that. That was a heartstrings thing for me because I love college football. and stories like that. We don't generally get to talk about that.

What ends up happening is we'll start preparing for next year. And then we'll be like, oh, that team won five in a row to end the season. And we're like, oh, they finished the season really well. Why not address that in that five in a row in the end of season run? And maybe UCLA and South Carolina are in runs like that. Not going to the playoffs, but certainly playing better right now. That'll do it for us. We're going to have playoff rankings live Wednesday morning, not live.

I'll record it Tuesday night right after the rankings. You can hear it and watch it on Wednesday morning. We'll have picks and previews on Thursday, as always. And folks, it's getting good. November is going to be fantastic. There's so much to talk about. There's so much good things in college football. Follow us on social media at Jolt Clash Show.

Subscribe to the YouTube channel. Click that notification button and have a blessed week. We'll see you on Wednesday.