The Joel Klatt Show: A College Football Podcast - Joel Klatt’s Post-Spring Top 25 for the 2026 Season

Episode Date: May 4, 2026

FOX Sports’ lead College Football analyst Joel Klatt ranks his Top 25 teams in College Football following the end of Spring Practice. He reveals which team he has at #1 heading into next season while debating how to stack teams like Ohio State, Notre Dame & Georgia. He breaks down his decision over where to place Curt Cignetti and Indiana a year after shocking the country by winning the National Championship. Klatt reveals Arch Manning and Texas’ place inside his rankings and whether Oklahoma joins them inside his Top 10. Michigan is entering a new era with Kyle Whittingham in charge of the Bryce Underwood-led Wolverines but how high will they be in his rankings? Klatt also explains his surprising placement of Alabama in the rankings as the Tide start next year with a new quarterback. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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free of charge. BetMGEMGEMP operates pursuant to an operating agreement with Eye Gaming, Ontario. Here we go. we got our post-spring top 25. Listen, I'm going to get some flack for this. I honestly couldn't put them much higher than this. This is one of the best coaches in America. The SEC still goes through Athens.

Everyone thinks that I don't like him. I do. But Lane Kiffin can coach, folks. I love a team that's pissed off. That was a team that felt like they could make a run to the national championship. This is your number one team in the country. This is the blueprint right here.

Hey, welcome into the program. This is the Joel Klatt show. I'm Joel Klatt. This is brought to you. by graduate by Hilton. We thank them for their support as always. And here we go. We got our post spring top 25 going on post draft top 25. It is right here. As you go through the summer months, this is how I see it before we head into the college football season. Let's start at 25. And just keep in mind, there was a lot of teams that I considered right here at 25. There's a bunch of

teams down to 30, 35. But here we go. Who made it? We start at 25 with Tennessee. Tennessee has been very consistent, at least on offense, Josh Hypoe took over five years ago. Tennessee has been the number one scoring offense in the country over that time frame. But the big question for Tennessee is at quarterback this year. And this is why that they're not higher. It looks to be down to two players, both of them, very little to no experience. Redshirt freshman George McIntyre and five-star true freshman, Faison Brandon. Now, listen, I think Josh Hypoe will be fine on offense. But remember, it is a very quarterback-driven offense because of that deep choice, type schematic that they like to run. On defense, they bring in new defensive coordinator,

Jim Knowles. He was at Ohio State won a national championship. Last year, he was with Penn State. That did not work out. And now Jim Knowles is in Knoxville for Tennessee. There's a lot of talent in Tennessee. They've been one of the best recruiting programs in the country over the last few years. They've recruited six five-star players over the last four cycles. They've got four straight classes in the top 15. The schedule, it's not terrible, but I do like the fact that they get a lot of their tough opponents at home. Three of their four hardest games are in Neeland, Texas, LSU and Alabama. They've got a road game at A&M. So that's Tennessee. They're in at 25. At 24, I'm going to go with South Carolina. And this is really about top in talent at important positions. It's a make or

break year for Shane Beamer. We all know that. They were a top 10 team early in the season last year. Then they finished four and eight. This is a bet on Lenora Sellers and Dylan Stewart, quarterback, edge rusher. Sellers came into the season last year as a Heisman hopeful. That fell off, obviously. Stewart could be a top 10 pick next year. He was in my way too early top 10 prospects for the 2027 draft. By the way, that was in my draft recap. That's on YouTube. Go subscribe. You can get back to that show and check out my top 10 prospects for next year going into next college football season. They did bring in Kendall Bryles as their new offensive coordinator, and obviously he can infuse a little bit there. They bring back the most offensive production in the SEC.

So I'm looking at South Carolina, and listen, I think that there's a lot of hope they're going to make my top 25 here. They have to overcome a really tough schedule, though. They've got road games at Alabama, road game at Florida, Oklahoma, and Clemson, all of those on the road, home games against Tennessee, A&M, and Georgia. So again, really tough schedule. They would be higher if it weren't for the schedule at this. point, but Carolina, South Carolina jumps in at 24. At 23, this is another one that's normally higher, and I'm just going to bet on the fact that the guy taking over is going to keep some semblance of continuity, even though there's a lot of guys leaving and missing from their last

regime. It's Utah. Again, Utah, you guys know, I've always been in love with Utah, and I've always put them higher than this, but they're going to be at 23. It's a new era in Salt Lake, obviously with Morgan Scally taken over as the head coach. And he's got to replace basically the entire offensive coaching staff that went with Kyle Whittingham to Michigan. Now they still have their quarterback, Devin Dampier. They still have Wayshon Parker as they're running back, but they've got to replace their offensive line.

And they had two first round picks on that offensive line. So that's just not going to be easy. Their backup quarterback, Bird Fickland, he's still around. He showed some dynamic ability with his legs last year. And Scali knows how to produce on the defensive side. He's been their coordinator on that side for a long time. They've always played good defense, and they bring back most of their secondary. So they still are inside of my top 25, even with all that turnover.

They fall at 23. Now, another big 12 team, and I think they could have a big year. I really love their head coach Willie Fritz. It's Houston. Houston's going to be at 22. They won 10 games in his second year at Houston coming off of that impressive run at Tulane. Fritz has done a really nice job. Connor Wegman back as a starting quarterback.

He's now has 26 starts in his career. His slot receiver, Amari Thomas, back with him. He was second in the Big 12 in receiving yards and touchdowns a year ago. And then watch out for Mackay Hughes at running back. Remember, Mackay Hughes played for Fritz at Tulane, then transferred last year to Oregon. We all thought that he was going to have a big year at Oregon. It really never materialized up there under Dan Landing.

And now he's back with Fritz this time at Houston. I think that he could return to being one of the more. productive backs in the country. So watch out for that. Mackay Hughes at Houston, they land at 22. At 21, another staple here. And I understand, listen, they don't know what's going on at the quarterback position. But remember, it's not a quarterback-centric team. If Tennessee is a quarterback-centric offense, Iowa is anything other than a quarterback-centric offense. And so they're going to land at 21 for me. That quarterback battle, it's going to go on. Do we care? Yes, I mean, we kind of do. I'm more concerned about the fact that they're replacing some key players off of that

offensive line. That old line was the best in the country, according to the Joe Moore Award that they won. They do have Kamari Moltenback as they're back. Kirk Ferrence is a terrific coach. DJ Von Nami, their tight end was a freshman all-American and he could be the next great tight end for Iowa. And then they went kind of the Kurt Signetti route in the transfer portal where they went group of five FCS standouts, production over potential, and guys that are smart that have played a lot of football, I believe that they can do a lot with on that defensive side under Phil Parker. Now, number 20, I'm going to go with Arizona. I like Arizona.

I really do. Brent Brennan is a hell of a football coach. I really believe that. I covered them in the holiday bowl. Plus, Noah Fafita is back. He was first team all big 12 last year. He's got the second most starts in the country going into next season. That's 34.

All of those came at Arizona. He's working on legacy for Arizona. In fact, I was talking with Nick Folls. Nick is a buddy of mine, and Nick obviously went to Arizona, and he's excited about Noah Fafita, mainly because of that legacy piece. And he thought, you know, it's so good that these quarterbacks stay in one place, because then they can build something that really lasts a long time. And Fafita is certainly trying to do that at Arizona.

Brendan has this program where he wants to be. Again, I covered them in the Holiday Bowl. so I'm bullish on Arizona there at number 20. Here's another program that I thought would take a jump last year, and they did. Listen, they competed hard. They made some mistakes and key moments in big games, but Washington is going to land at 19. DeMond Williams is back behind four starters on the offensive line.

Love that. Now, they've got to replace Denzel Boston and Vinesbright, the wide receiver who transferred to Arizona State, but they've got Desmond Roebuck. He had a really nice true freshman season there. Rashid Williams got hurt early last year. He could be set for a big year next year. And they've got some continuity on the defensive side with Ryan Walters, their defensive coordinator back for his second year. He kind of figured things out during the course of the

middle of the year for Jedfish. So Washington with Demand Williams at quarterback is going to be at 19. They've got some really key games in the Big Ten, obviously, and some teams, really good teams traveling up to Seattle to face them. And what I think is one of the great home fields in of college football. 18. Here's another team that I really like also covered them in the holiday bowl. SMU at 18. Listen, Red Lashley has done a marvelous job. They did a tremendous job of taking him off the market and signing him, in particular when that Arkansas job came up open really early in the season. Do you know the Mustangs have won 31 games over the last three years? That's 10th most in the country. In their last two years in the ACC, they've gone 14

and two in conference games. Kevin Jennings is back, entering year three now as a starter. He's got 26 starts under his belt, all at SMU, including a playoff game on the road against Penn State. So SMU is a team that's not going anywhere. They fall inside of my top 20.

SMU is 18. Another one that I like a lot, but I think that they've been budding themselves up against kind of a ceiling, and we understand that, right? Like when they face the best team in their league, they just couldn't get over the hump. They couldn't play very well on the offensive side of the ball.

BYU is going to be in at 17. They got a big boost when Big 12 offensive player of the year, LJ Morton decided to turn down the draft and return to Provo. So he's back. Barrett Bachmeier back for his sophomore campaign after leading the team to 11 wins as a freshman. They were already going to have to replace an all big 12 receiver with Chase Roberts out of eligibility. But then the news this spring, and this was not great news. and candidly, they would be higher in my rankings if this didn't happen.

But the debacle around Parker Kingston, dismissed from the team after some terrible accusations means that they have a serious question market wide receiver. So we'll see what happens there. They also lost their defensive coordinator. Jay Hill, who was very good, went with Kyle Whittingham, who he's coached with before from his Utah days. Then he went to BYU and now he's with Wittingham in Michigan. Can they break through that ceiling?

You know, it's kind of hovered above their head the last few years. years. We'll see if they're able to do so next year. BYU lands at 17. At 16, and I know, listen, I'm going to get some flack for this, but I honestly couldn't put them much higher than this. Alabama. Alabama is going to be at 16, and they've just been slowly slipping, and we see that in their play on the field. Kalen DeBore just got a contract extension, which was a bit interesting, to be honest with you, as he heads into year three in Tuscaloosa. Quarterback, they've got two very talented but very inexperienced options between last year's backup Austin Mack, who followed DeBoer from Washington to Alabama and redshirt freshman five-star Keelon Russell.

All right. So that's a battle there. DeBoer is not going to name a starter until the fall, whoever it is has zero career starts in college. I just don't like that in this day and age, okay? All these teams that have these quarterback battles, it's just not like it used to be because as we see in big games at the top of conferences and certainly in the college football playoff, it matters how experienced your quarterback is. And we see that now year in and year out. They're going to need Ryan Williams, now going by Ryan Coleman Williams, to get back to what he

was as a freshman. He wasn't near what he was last year. Brooks stepped up late in the year as a wide receiver. They're going to need that. But really, it's about their defense and their run game. That needs to improve. I mean, they, listen, that was their hallmark for years under Nick Sabin. Their defense has got to get better. And they've got to run it better. You know, they were 126. in yards per carry last year, 126th. You know, I mean, Ty Simpson put him on their back

and now they don't have Ty Simpson. They don't have Jeremy Bernard. You know, I know that they've recruited well. I'm going to try to give them the benefit of the doubt right here. They're going to have to find more balance if they're going to have more success in the SEC. Number 15. This one is a lot about schedule

because honestly, there's a few rosters behind this group that I like better than this roster. But if you look at the schedule, this is certainly going to be a top 15 team next year, and that's Penn State. Penn State, now with Matt Campbell as their head coach, and basically it's just like East Iowa State. I mean, he brought literally the entire roster. Well, not literally. You know what I mean, though, like almost the entire roster.

Last year was a huge disappointment. We know that this program is making this move because they want to move from good to great. They got to the national semi-final under James Franklin. They had that game against Oregon. They felt like they could make a run at a national tournament. championship a year ago and didn't. The big game failures prompted this move and now Matt Campbell is going to be charged with trying to win those big games. But here's the thing. They don't have a ton of big games this year because the schedule falls in their favor.

They're going to have the most experienced quarterback in the country taking snaps for them in Rocco Beck. Now, I know it's not at Penn State, but that doesn't really matter, right? Will Howard won the national championship. Fernanda Mendoza won a national championship. And Beck, Beck, is going to be playing for his head coach and his former offensive coordinator Taylor Mouser from Iowa State. Danton Lynn comes in as the defensive coordinator, he goes from USC to his alma mater at Penn State and the schedule, like I said, lines up really well. I think they could make a run at 10 wins. Home game against USC and road trips to Michigan and Washington. Those are the toughest games on the schedule. So certainly lines up for a big year

for the first year under Matt Campbell for the Nittany Lions. Now we move inside of the top 15. I'm going to go with Old Miss here. Old Miss, that tremendous run. they just lost a lot off of that roster. Trayyad Chambliss was amazing, man, for the Rebels last year. Taking over a quarterback early in the season and leading them to the CFP, holding them together as a leader when their head coach left. Like that was phenomenal, right? If you have Chambliss, I think you're going to have a chance in almost any game that you play in.

Kiwan Lacey, who's a big part of their run with well over 1,500 yards. He's back at running back. I thought Pete Golding did a great job holding that culture together, run deep into the college football playoff. They hit the portal hard. They strengthen the defense. They replace some pass catchers on the outside. So Ole Miss lands inside of the top 15 at number 14. Here's another one that was higher in my way too early top 25. But now with news that we have in the last couple of weeks, they've fallen down. Texas Tech is going to be at 13. Now, the huge news was obviously that the NCAA is investigating their transfer quarterback Brendan Sorsby.

for gambling. He has sought treatment for gambling addiction, and that is a huge blow to Texas Tech. They paid good money for Brennan Soresby. A lot of us thought that that was a tremendous fit as Sorsby transfers within the conference to Texas Tech. And now that's all out the window. Now you're looking for Will Hammond, who was the backup last year. And by the way, played well at times as a backup last year. He was impressive filling in for Baron Morton, but he tore his ACL. Now it's questionable whether he's going to be back even for weeks. Week one. It's going to be a battle to get back into position to start right there. The first real test for them doesn't come until week three against Houston.

So maybe they can get away with Will Hammond not being healthy in the first couple of weeks. Outside of Sorsby, Tech hit the portal again to bolster their roster, wide receivers, front seven on defense. Obviously, they lost a lot of front seven players to the National Football League. David Bailey, the second pick in the draft, Ramello Heights, Jacob Rodriguez. so they got to refill that roster on that defensive side. But they land at 13. I still think this is the best team in the big 12, and I still think that they're going to win that conference.

All right, number 12, you see this team lower. You see this team sometimes higher. I land kind of in the middle because it's a wait and see for me on one very key element. It's Michigan. Michigan's going to be at 12. It's an offseason of change. We know that.

And it's not just like going from Jim Harbaugh to his assistant. This is like massive change for Michigan. They need to change the culture. They need to move away from whatever it was that was going on last year and in years prior. And Kyle Whittingham comes in along with a ton of assistant coaches from Utah, as well as defense coordinator Jay Hill, who I just told you previously, worked with Kyle at Utah as a defensive coach. All eyes are, though, going to be on this element.

The combination of Bryce Underwood in his sophomore year, an offensive coordinator, Jason Beck. Now, Jason Beck in the last few years, has been outstanding as an offensive coordinator. And he has gotten the most out of guys like Devin Dampeer at New Mexico and then at Utah. We'll see if he can do the same for Bryce Underwood. The schedule is not easy.

They've got four playoff teams on the schedule. They've got home games against Oklahoma. That's week two of the season in Indiana. They've got road games late in the year at Oregon, really tough place to play and of course the big one at Ohio State. I think Michigan could have a pretty good football team. I think the schedule is a little bit daunting for me. And again, it's that combination of Jason Beck and Bryce Underwood.

If that meshes well, this could be a really good football team. And listen, you guys know how I feel about Kyle Whittingham. This is one of the best coaches in America. He really is. And Michigan is in good hands. Now, could they win the Big Ten? I don't know. There's some loaded teams at the top, and they're going to be at the very top of these rankings right here.

But this could be a good football team. And again, it comes down to those, I think, the most important games, the home games, Oklahoma and Indiana. And then obviously that big one at the end, Ohio State. In Toronto, every arrival is a statement. And nothing says it better than this. Cadillac Optic was the number one selling luxury EV in Canada for 2025. Find your rhythm across a seamless 33-inch display and an immersive 19 speaker AKG surround audio system. This city demands agility and optic delivers with precision to make every drive extraordinary.

Let's take the Cadillac. Find out more at Cadillac Canada.ca. Luxury sales claim based on S&P Global Mobility Canadian New Vehicle Total Registrations for calendar year 2025 for the Cadillac definition of luxury. Speaking of Oklahoma, they land at number 11. So OU lands at 11. Vinables has that defense exactly where he wants it. Took the play calling over last year. It worked.

They were top 10 in the country. They were one of the best defenses in the country. country. They've got four returning all SEC players on defense. They've got Owen Heineke, won that battle with the NCAA, the Bowen brothers and the secondary really good players. And that doesn't even include one of the most talented players on their defense. They're tackled David Stone, who could be a breakout star this year. I mean, I see some draft projections as he might be like a top half of the first round type of guy. And we know when John Matera is healthy, like this guy is very good. Heck, he was leading the Heisman trophy race early in the year last

year before that injury to his hand. So this is a team that I think can play better offense. They have to run the ball better from the running back position. It can't just all land on John Mateer like it did last year because you cannot assume that he's going to be healthy. If he's got a shoulder of the load of the run game, he's not going to be healthy the entire year. If he's not healthy the entire year, then I don't love Oklahoma and the SEC. If he can stay healthy and they get some balance up front in particular out of their running backs, they could do something. Ben Arbuckle is back as the offensive coordinator. Matera has played for him.

Now this will be their third season together. So a lot of familiarity there. That OU offense, they made the playoff with a 93rd ranked total offense in the country. Now, they did add Parker Livingston. They've got first team all SEC wide receiver. What is it? Satania. I always struggle with that pronunciation.

Isaiah Satania, because there's a G in there. I want to pronounce the G, but you don't. He turned down the draft and he is back. So OU is at 11. Now you get into the. top 10. Now, truth be told, when I got to about 16, there was a line. Okay, so from from BYU, all the way down to like 30 or 35, there were a lot of teams that I considered. And you could easily put some other teams in that back end of the top 25. And then from 16 to about

eight, there were a lot of teams that I can consider and you could move them around and shuffle them around. So I know that most people have that line of demarcation at top 10. Oh, are they a top 10 team? But for me, it's actually going to be more of a top 7. And then from 8 to about 16, all of these teams can kind of shuffle together. So I wanted to make that kind of delineation here before we move forward because at 10, I've got USC. Now, I'm bullish on USC. I think USC could have a really good team next year. And namely because I think they've fixed the line of scrimmage. Now, Lincoln Riley over the last couple of years that he was going to have to do some things with smoke and mirrors. And listen, they had good football teams, but they weren't quite up to par on the line of scrimmage.

They had a young defensive line. That's more veteran now. And they got some really good players up front like Jakeem Stewart, who was a true freshman last year. They bring back their entire starting offensive line. And that's an offensive line that had the run game going a little bit. By the way, speaking of that run game, Lincoln Riley has always been really good when they can run the football. Now they've got not just King Miller back, but also Weiman Jordan. Wayman Jordan was specacular last year before he got hurt.

I'm going to love watching him run the football and in particular behind a veteran offensive line. Now, there is some question out at wide receiver, but one thing that I do know about Lincoln Riley's offenses is that they're going to find wide receivers. Chin's could be ready to step up after playing well down the stretch as a true freshman. Think about what he did late in the year, 140 yards against Oregon, 160 yards against TCU in their bowl game. So they can replace Jacoby Lane and Mackay Lemon. Maybe you're not going to get Mackay Lemon right out of the gate,

but they're going to have guys that can catch the football on the outside. By the way, on defense, that's always a question. They're going to move from Danton Lynn, who goes to Penn State, to now Gary Patterson comes in as defensive coordinator. Patterson obviously had great defenses at TCU. We'll see if he can do that at USC. So USC, again, I'm bullish on USC higher than most. At nine, I've got Texas A&M.

I really love what Mike Elko has done. He gets the benefit of the doubt of those other teams in this 16 to 8 kind of corridor. Elko has been tremendous. Last year ended with a bad taste in their mouth. I think that they're going to be a motivated, pissed off football team, and I love that, okay? Started out 11 and 0 had that great win against Notre Dame early. Losses to Texas and then Miami in the playoff, obviously leaves a bad taste. But this is a team and a program that's going to be built on the right things under Mike Elko, right?

built on defense. There's going to be some changes on the offensive side. They lost their offensive coordinator, Colin Klein, good offensive coordinator that goes to Kansas State to be the head coach at his alma mater. I love Colin Klein. That's a big loss. But they do have their quarterback back. I think that's good with Marcel Reed. He goes into his third year as a starter. They get Mario Craver back. That's a big deal for them. So A&M is still, by the way, that home field advantage is so good. So A&M gets a benefit of the doubt. They wind up inside of my top 10 at number nine. At eight, and this is my kind of like top team of this, this sector. And this again, this is going to be a nod here. This is a nod to a job that

this guy does everywhere that he goes. Everyone thinks that I don't, I don't like him. I do. I really do. I thought that the whole leaving Ole Miss was a disaster and a mess, but Lane Kiffin can coach folks and LSU is going to be at number eight. There are offense was not very good last year. Guess what? It's going to be very good this year. That's what Lane brings to the table. One of, if not, the most expensive roster in the sport after hitting the portal hard to put Kiffin in position to win in year one. 40 incoming transfers, including maybe the best quarterback in the transfer portal, Sam Levitt. You've got Jace Brown, wide receiver from Kansas State, really good player, probably the top lineman in the portal.

and Jordan Seton. I think this guy is a surefire first round pick. In fact, he was in my top 10 players for next year's NFL draft. Go back and watch that episode. Jordan Ross, the edge from Tennessee, Prince Uman Mieland from Ole Miss. Like, they got some players. They're going to be ready. By the way, they retained Blake Baker on defense. I think that was a great move. LSU is going to win football games. I think they will absolutely be better on offense. I know Levitt's still recovering from that foot injury, didn't participate in spring practice, but he's going to be ready to go and he's an experienced guy. So there's LSU inside of my top 10. And like I said, they get the nod at eight right there in that whole corridor of teams from 16 to 8. And now we get into what I feel like

is the cream of the crop. I had seven teams at the top of college football that I had to rank. And after that, then I went through everybody else. Okay. So I want to put that line right here and say this is it. This is where I think the national champion is coming from in these top seven teams. At seven, it's Texas. Some are going to be higher on Texas. Some might even be lower on Texas. I'm going to put Texas right here at seven. Archmanning is the headliner as he goes into year two. We know that. I think he's going to actually play really well because his play late in the season suggests that he's going to play really well. He finished with 20 total touchdown. He finished with 20 total touchdowns and only two turnovers in his last six games, including a monster game against

Michigan in the bowl game. He was outstanding in that game. Sark is revamping the offense with portal players. Wide receiver, Cam Coleman. Watch out for Cam Coleman. I think he could have a monster year down there in Austin. You could see guys like Ryan Wingo have a monster year. As Cam Coleman now is paired up with him, they also brought in two running backs. Hollywood Smothers from North Carolina State. Relique Brown at Arizona State. They're going to revamp the offensive line after getting a few portal players. Now, Will Mustchamp is back to coordinate the defense on the 40 acres.

Sark decided to shake things up there. Colin Simmons is back. By the way, another one of those top 10 players for next year in the 2027 NFL draft. The rematch with Ohio State is going to be off the charts. Can't wait for that one. early in the year. The winner of that game is going to have the inside track on being ranked, you know, one or two in the country and certainly an inside track on a playoff

birth right away. We'll see who wins that one. So Texas at number seven. Number six, I'm going to go with Miami. Miami was one drive away from winning the national championship last year. And I think getting Darien Minsa, however they got him, listen, however they got him, that was huge for the hurricanes. He led Duke to the ACC title last year.

He joins now Malachi Tony and Mark Fletcher on offense. You know that the line of scrimmage, although decimated in the draft, will still be good. Why? Because that's what Mario Cristobald does. You can say what you want about his in-game coaching ability, which, by the way, I thought improved dramatically last year during their run late in the season in November in some road games and certainly through the playoff. But he recruits and develops linemen, both on the offensive side and the defensive side.

The talent level is there to compete. They went big in the portal, Missouri defensive lineman Damon Wilson. He's there. I believe in Mario Cristobal. I believe in what he does at the line of scrimmage. And so Miami is going to be number six. At number five, I'm going to go with Georgia. Georgia at number five.

It's easy to take Georgia for granted, isn't it? They haven't won the title in three years. And so we think like, no, you know, Georgia's not what they used to be. But here's the deal with Kirby Smart. He recruits his butt off. In three years, they've gone three years. They've gone 36 and 6 and won two SEC titles. You know, the negative is that they haven't won a playoff game.

But like, okay, okay, they still have players, folks, and the SEC still goes through Athens. Georgia is going to be a heck of a team. Gunner Stockton, he's back for a year two as a starter. They've got their running back back, Nate Frazier, Drew Bobo up front as a center. KJ. Bolden. I love KJ. Bolden. He's a guy, again, top 10 next year. NFL draft, Ellis Robinson at the corner position. They've got other players that have,

I thought, developed into really good players, including Elijah Griffin at defensive tackle. He was a freshman All-American last year. So Georgia's not going anywhere. And they run the SEC, right? If you want to win that conference, if you want to be considered the best team in the SEC, you've got to beat Georgia. That's just the way it's going to be. So Georgia is at number five. At number four, Indiana. Indiana. Indiana. winds up in the top five. I really wanted to put them higher, to be honest. And the three teams above them, like, they just have, they just have so much returning at key spots. But you know what? The Hoosiers aren't going anywhere with Kurt Signetti in charge, especially when they've been able to

hang on to the continuity with their coordinators. Mike Shanahan, the offensive coordinator, he's still there. Brian Haynes, by the way, we've heard a lot more of him and from him in the offseason on social media. He's back. as the defensive coordinator after coordinating one of the best defenses in all of college football. The big name coming in in the portal, though, is going to be Josh Hoover and all eyes are going to be on Josh Hoover because he's replacing the number one pick in the draft, the Heisman trophy winner, Fernando Mendoza. But here's the thing.

He's the perfect candidate to replace Mendoza, almost a clone of Mendoza. I've said this stat before. I'm going to say it again. Last year, Fernando Mendoza, through more RPO's run pass option plays than anybody in college football. The next player on that list, number two overall in college football was Josh Hoover. He's built for this offense. You heard Kurt Signetti who kind of threw a shot down there towards TCU and he said, I'm going to introduce him to his two best friends. I'm going to cut down on his turnovers because I'm going to introduce him to a run game and a defense. Well, who are the

other players for Indiana? Because it can't just be Josh Hoover. How about Nick Marsh, the wide receiver at Michigan State? Big get in the portal. Now he's going to be lined up on the outside was Charlie Becker. They got Joe Brunner from Wisconsin. Really good guard at Wisconsin to solidify what is going to be a very good offensive line. And in particular, because they're all big 10 left tackle, Carter Smith, he is back. Usen Sami. He's from Kansas State on the edge. Really good player to help that defense who lost a lot of players on the defensive side. Cornerback, AJ Harris, really good player. Production over potential. These are clearly guys that fit the Indiana mold. And I don't think that Indiana is going anywhere. That's going to be a really tough team to beat in particular

when you get to Bloomington and maybe even when they go on the road as well. All right, top three, here we go. Number three, Ohio State. The Buckeyes land at number three, Julian San and Jeremiah Smith back. Now, there's more turnover than usual in Columbus, but they've got their quarterback back and they've got arguably, not even arguably. They've got the best player in the sport back on their roster and Jeremiah Smith. Okay. I mean, like, that's just what it is. New offensive coordinator, Arthur Smith comes in to run what we assume would be a more NFL style of offense for Julian Zan. So Arthur Smith comes in as the offensive coordinator. I think the best part about Ohio State isn't even the fact that San and Smith are back. It's the fact that

four starters on their offensive line are back as well as Bo Jackson. So now all of a sudden, this offense looks like it could be an offense that would be as good as any in all of college football, saying it quarterback, Heisman finalist last year, best player in the sport, Jeremiah Smith, he's on the outside. Bo Jackson is second year at running back. Austin Saraville up front, leading an offensive line that is more experienced and certainly should be better. And then on defense, they went to the portal and hit the portal hard, even though they've

got some players that are homegrown like Kenyatta Jackson to play on the edge. So Ohio State, what should we make of Ohio State trying to replace all these players in particular on defense? They did it a year ago. They had to replace eight starter. on defense a year ago. They turned into the best defense in college football. So I'm going to trust Matt Patricia. Granted, they don't have

Arvel Reese and you know, Sunny Stiles and they don't have Caleb in the back end. You know, like, I understand that, I understand that, but Earl Little, really good safety. Hit the portal. They get good defensive linemen

out of Alabama. I think they should be fine on the defensive side and they probably are going to have the best offense in all of college football. All right, my top two. Number two, Notre Dame. I said this before already, and I'm going to say it again. I love a team that's pissed off.

And Notre Dame is going to be fired up and ready from Jump Street. You think Marcus Freeman doesn't have the attention to his team after the start to last season, kept them out of the playoff a year ago. That was a team that felt like they could make a run into the national championship. They were held out of the playoff. Now, this is going to be a more C.J. Carson, Intric offense that you don't have Jeremiah Love. You don't have Judarian Price.

They're off to the NFL. But they got their two top receivers from last year back. Jordan Faison, Jaden Greathouse. They also got two really good wide receivers out of the portal. And you don't see this often. But obviously, Ohio State losing some of their coaches. And Brian Hartline moves on to be a head coach and wide receivers transfer out of Ohio State.

So Quincy Porter, who that program loved. Jeremiah Smith loved him. Mylan Graham, both of those guys go to Notre Dame. They've got a ton of experience coming back in the trenches, by the way. Four starters on the offensive line, a defense that probably will be the best defense in all of college football. They've got five of their seven starters back up front. This team's going to be loaded and they're going to be really good.

Check out some of the top in talent that they have. A quarterback, CJ Carr. He could be a top pick in next year's draft. Jaden Greathouse out at wide receiver. Thorpe Award frontrunner to begin the year. year Leonard Moore at Corner. You've got talent all over the defense, and that's a defense that you know will play well because that's Freeman's deal. Like he's a defensive oriented coach. This could be a special year for the Irish and Notre Dame. They're going to start for me at number two. That leaves

one team for my number one team, and it is not a change from my way too early top 25, and it's Oregon. I'm going to have Oregon at number one. And I look at the blueprint of the teams have won the last two national championships, really the last three national championships. And Oregon fits that blueprint to a T, to a T. They are going to be a veteran-led team with talent coming back everywhere. They're going to be the best defensive line in the country. They're going to have an experienced quarterback. They're going to have the ability to be explosive. They're going to have the ability to run the football. And they've been getting closer every single year. You look at the last couple of years, they've got three losses.

over the last two years, just three. Every one of those losses to the eventual national champion. Ohio State, the one loss two years ago, Indiana, both losses last year. That's it. And every year, Dan Landing has been there. They go one step further. Has anyone else noticed this? One step closer every year.

They got to the national semi-final a year ago. I believe this is a team that will compete for and be in the national championship game. and I told you about all that veteran talent. Take a look at all this talent that this team has coming back. Veteran talent. It starts at quarterback with Dante Moore. You go out wide, Decorian Moore at wide receiver. Jeremiah McClellan at wide receiver.

By the way, Evan Stewart's going to be back. He participated in spring ball. Jordan Davison back at running back. Jamari Johnson at tied in. Now you go to the defense. Mateo Oungalele at Edge. He's back. Amori Washington back.

Bear Alexander. Back. Tatum Tuoyote, back. Brandon Finney, back. I mean, guys, this is your number one team in the country. Veteran talent, veteran quarterback. This is the blueprint right here. Oregon is going to start out at number one sky high expectations for the ducks, for Dan Laning, and for a roster that is riddled with NFL talent and veteran talent to boot. By the way, their secondary, which was young last year, they got a bunch of experience. experience, obviously, and Corey Parrish from Minnesota. He transfers in. I think he's a wonderful player. Hey, if you have not subscribed to the program, you need to do so. So go subscribe to the Joel Clat Show on YouTube right now. You can leave a comment down below. What did I get wrong? What did I get right? What team do you think should be higher? What team do you think should be lower? Leave that in the comment down below. I'll try to get in there and read some of those and respond to some of those

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