The Joel Klatt Show: A College Football Podcast - Klatt’s Preseason Top 25 for the 2023 Season

Episode Date: August 7, 2023

FOX Sports’ lead college football analyst Joel Klatt unveils his Preseason Top 25 rankings for the upcoming College Football season. Klatt begins with the 2-time defending champion Georgia Bulldogs before revealing how much separation is between Michigan and Ohio State as well as their division rival Penn State. He gets into why he’s higher on Alabama than most before getting into how he stacks a potentially deep group of Playoff contenders including LSU, Florida State, Clemson, USC and another Pac-12 school which he thinks could be better than all of them. Klatt also walks through his process as he went through the annual struggle of deciding where to rank Texas before a season. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Today on the Joel Clatt show, my top 25 teams heading into the season for college football. 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 just one of those days where you fall in love with the sport all over again. Hey, hey, welcome into the program. This is the Joel Clad show.

I am Joel Clatt and I am so thrilled to be. be with you today because here we are the brand new studios. The digital space here at Fox has gotten revamped and it's gorgeous and I can't wait to bring you the show from this beautiful studio this year as we get set for another college football season. It's about that time. This is my favorite time of year. We actually have some football to start talking about and we can get all of this

conference stuff out of our hair, if you will, and move forward with actual football. Remember, if you have not followed us on social media, do so. All of the social medias are available to you at Joel Clat Show. You can follow me, by the way, on X or Twitter. What are we calling it? X, whatever. On Twitter, the old Twitter, you can follow me at Joel Clatt. You can follow me on Instagram at Joel underscore Clat.

That's the personal side. And then most importantly, go check out, like, rate, and subscribe. to the new YouTube channel. The Joel Class Show has a dedicated YouTube channel. Go there, subscribe. You'll get all of our content all season long, and it's going to be a great season. Okay, here we go.

My top 25 headed into the season. It should be noted, and I know I get this all the time, by the way. People are like, hey, don't you hate preseason rankings? Yes, yes, I do. And you all love them. So here we go. I'm going to go 1 to 25 because there's not a lot of suspense about who's number one and you don't want to wait 30 minutes to see who's number one

because the number one team is the Georgia Bulldogs. We all know that. George is number one and they should be on everybody's ballot. It always, to me, it's laughable when you see these ballots and it's like eight first place votes for, I don't know, like name the team. Even Alabama this year. It's like, come on. Who's doing that?

You're just trying to be different. The number one team of the preseason this year is Georgia. And if you don't have them number one, you're probably not good at this. So Georgia's number one and rightly so. Back-to-back national champions. And this is a team that, yes, is losing some pieces, just like everybody is in college football.

But here's the thing that I really, when I look at Georgia, let's just put it this way. You could make an argument that, oh, they might be ripe to be beaten because they're losing a quarterback and an offensive coordinator. My response to that is at no point, in the last two years when they're winning back-to-back national championships, did I think that they were a quarterback or offensive-centric team? At no point.

Kirby Smart has built something that is bigger than a quarterback, even though Stetson-Binnett played really well in some big moments. And I'm not taking anything away from this. It's not a knock against Stets and Bennett. This is just a nod to what they've built at Georgia. That is a roster-based team. They are still the best roster in college football. football. They still have, what is it,

13 or more, five-star players on that roster. When I talk with people around that program, they say to me, our defense might not have the stars that it has had over the last couple of years with guys like Jalen Carter leaving to the NFL. By the way,

just go look at the Philadelphia Eagles defense. That's where all the Georgia players are playing. But they do say that they might be deeper and actually, and I know this sounds crazy, but better on defense than last year, maybe not than the year before, which was historically great. But that's something to watch out for.

They still have Brock Bowers. They have talented guys that are coming and competing for the quarterback job. And that's one of the easiest schedules I've ever seen a defending national champion have. And this is not their fault. See, this is, I always have to preface because people think I'm taking a shot at Georgia. Not taking a shot of Georgia. They were supposed to play at Oklahoma.

But because of Oklahoma's move pending to the SEC next. year. That game has gone away because the return game is going to fall into the conference schedule. So now they're not going to Oklahoma. So they just have to fill that game. So guess what? They fill it with who cares, Jones Junior High School. That schedule is really easy, really easy. They're not going to be threatened at all until November. If they're threatened at all, their toughest game is at Tennessee. Tennessee is a good football team and you're going to see them on my preseason rankings. I still don't think that Georgia is going to be threatened. They weren't necessarily threatened by Tennessee last year,

and Tennessee's got to replace everything that was important to them a year ago. Georgia is about a shoe-in to go to the college football playoff. Because I don't think they're going to even have to win the SEC. They're probably going to go undefeated, B-12-no, and being the SEC championship game, and at that point, they're in. It doesn't matter if they beat whomever from the west side of that conference. So Georgia's schedule plus their roster, plus Kirby, plus every. Georgia's number one and rightly so.

All right. Number two, and then this is where like you're going to have some debates start. I land with Michigan. Michigan's going to be my number two team in the country. Michigan's got a lot going for it this year. Jim Harbaugh is returning what I think is going to be his best team at Michigan. He's got a quarterback back. He's got the best running back tandem in the country back. They've got an offensive line that is as good.

or better than any offensive line in the country. And by the way, they've won the Joe Moore Award two years in a row. And they got a couple of really good transfers to come into that offensive line. The defense is solid. I would say that they're even going to be better. Guys like Will Johnson entering into kind of their prime and their college career now in his second year over at corner. Mike Sainer still, their nickel back. Jim Harbaugh believes that this is a deep roster.

15 to 20 guys could get drafted off of this roster. this is a really good team. And by the way, they've won the Big Ten twice. That blueprint is sufficient in that conference, and it has worked, and it ain't changing. So I've got Michigan at number two. Number three is their rival in its Ohio State. This, I tell you what, that game can't get here soon enough. They were both undefeated in last year's game.

There's a good chance they're both going to be undefeated in this year's game. This Ohio State team is excellent. they lost those last two games last year. One of them to Georgia. The only two losses are my one and two teams from a year ago to end the year. I know Buckeye fans don't want to hear that, but that's the truth. And there's an immense amount of pressure on Ohio State this year, and namely Ryan Day. And I get it.

When you're at Ohio State, you've got to beat Michigan, you've got to win the Big Ten, and you've got to go and compete for and potentially win national championships. When you look at what Ohio State has done under Ryan Day, they have completely dominated everybody except for Michigan and in the playoff. So that has to start to change. So when you look at this team, here's what I see. I see a team that is actually a little better than they were a year ago, except for quarterback.

That's the only unproven position. Everywhere else, I can make an argument that they are better. Now, the offensive line, you know, you can make, well, it can be a discussion. but I do think having seen them in spring ball, I think that this offensive line is going to be pretty darn good. Trayvion Henderson should be more healthy. They should get more out of the run game. They've got the best wide receiver tandem in the country with a mecca,

Abuka and the best player in college football on Marvin Harrison, Jr. Their defense should be much better than they were a year ago when they couldn't get stops late in the game against Michigan and against Georgia. This is a good football team. Why am I not worried about their quarterback? It's a good question. I think it's going to be Kyle McCord. Ryan Day has played it close to the vest.

But when you look at the history of Ryan Day, here's what you see. You see that he's had one-year quarterbacks almost his entire career. If you go back to his time at Boston College or even through the NFL, even early at Ohio State, he basically had one year with a guy and then had to move to the next guy. In fact, the first quarterback that he had for a second year in his first, like what, in the last like, nine seasons was Justin Fields. Then he had a second year with C.J. Stroud. By the way, both of those guys, obviously very talented,

had great first seasons. When you average out the first season under Ryan Day, it's about 41 total touchdowns and five interceptions. By the way, Kyle McCord, he's going to be playing behind an Ohio State offensive line with Trayvion Henderson in the backfield and Marvin Harrison on the outside. So, like, how do you think he's going to do, Joel?

Pretty damn good. I just don't see a scenario in which Kyle McCourt is the problem for Ohio State. Their big question is, can they handle Michigan, the physicality of Michigan, the physicality of Georgia? All right, we move on. My number four team, Alabama, I've heard a lot of people kind of insinuate that this is the year that Alabama falls off. I'm not going to fall into that trap.

Alabama has recruited at too high of a level. When you look at what they did in last year's recruiting class, and granted, that's not going to impact this season to a great deal necessarily. But when you look at what they've done over the last five seasons, they've finished first, second, first, and second and first. I think I just, did I do five there? I might have done six. I don't know.

But anyways, you get the gist. They haven't finished outside of the top two in the country recruiting in any of the last five cycles. So are they going to be okay? Yeah, they're going to be okay. What I get concerned about with Alabama is not their roster, it's not their defense taking a step back. It's the fact that their quarterback is a concern, judging by the fact that after spring

ball, they had to bring in a transfer, Tyler Buckner, to pair with their new offensive coordinator Tommy Reese, who had him at Notre Dame. That tells me that they weren't ecstatic about what. what Milrow was able to do, whether it was on the field against Texas A&M last year and or in spring ball. So now Buckner is going to be there and battling for that spot. That tells me that they're unsettled at the position. That's a bit of a concern for me. Why? Because Bryce Young was so important to that team. You talk about a quarterback-centric team last year, they were quarterback-centric. He held them in the game against Texas, won that game for him. He was the only reason they were

close against LSU. It was the only reason they were close against Tennessee. They've got to get better at wide receiver. I don't know if that's going to be all that much better than it was a year ago. And that was a huge weakness for them a year ago. In particular, when you look at what they had had in the previous call it six, seven seasons, you know, they were right up there with the best wide receivers in the country along with Ohio State.

And last year, it just wasn't, it just wasn't the case. And because of that, they fell short in some of those games. So those two areas are where you've got to be looking for Alabama. All right. At number five, I go with Penn State. So Penn State to me is a team that is just banging on the door of that next step of success in college football. Last year, there were only two losses were against Michigan and Ohio State. This is a team that really, when you,

when I did their games, their biggest question mark, and if I'm a Penn State fan, my question is, are we going to be better at quarterback in order to go out there and play with the big boys? I think that they will be. Drew Aller is an incredibly talented player, really talented. And I actually think that he fits what Penn State can do and will do much better than what Sean Clifford fit in the last couple of years.

You see, I think that Mike Yurchitch, the offensive coordinator. His offense is a little bit different than what Joe Morehead wanted to run or Ricky Ronnie wanted to run with the Trace McSorley types. They were very RPO based, you know, with McSorley and Seekwan Barclay, and they were kind of in the middle trying to throw the ball down the field. Now they've got these two really good running backs with Allen and Singleton. They've got a good offensive line and a strong-armed quarterback.

Now they can run it and throw it over the top, which is more of what Mike Yurchich is, in particular, when you're dating back to his Oklahoma State days. So that's interesting to me. I think that it's a better fit. I like their offense a little bit more. And then on defense, they're really good on every single level.

You look at what they've got, Chop Robinson up front rushing the quarterback. Abdul Carter, one of the best linebackers in the Big Ten or the country, Kaelin King. This is a really good team. And the question becomes, can they knock off Michigan or Ohio State?

At number six, this is a team that I really like. really like Washington. Washington is sneaky good. I think Washington could win the PAC 12. I think that Michael Pinnock's, their quarterback, could win the Heisman. That's my dark horse right there.

If I'm talking about Heismans, that's where I would start anybody not named Caleb Williams. It would be Michael Pinnock. Now, he's got to stay healthy. He's had injury problems in the past, but their wide receiver core is second in the country to Ohio State. Adonze is fantastic. They've got a head coach in Kalin-Dibor that knows how to throw the ball. They led the country in passing a year ago.

Their defense is pretty darn good. This was a team that was a breath away from being in the Pac-12 title game. In fact, I believe they lost out on the tie break to Utah. Remember, they lost a close game late in November. that also would have put them in that Pack 12 title game. I really like Washington. I think Washington is going to, I don't know if they're going to surprise people with what they did a year ago,

but I'm a big fan of what Kaelin DeBore is doing and Michael Pinnock's in that passing game. So they're going to be at number six. Pennix, like I said, Dark Horse for the Heisman. Number seven, this is also another one of those teams. Like, I'm really high on. And it's just hard for me to get them inside the top five, although I wanted to.

By the way, I debated. both Washington and my seventh team, which is LSU, at number five. That was for me, kind of a three-horse conversation right there for number five. And then I had eight, nine, and ten kind of a debate between those three, and I'll get to those in a moment. I really like LSU. They had the number two transfer class in the country, primarily on the defensive side, which is where they needed help.

They get their quarterback back. It's Brian Kelly's second year. they're good on the offensive line. I think they have four of their starting five back on the offensive line. And it's a team that I think should take kind of that next step. They won the West, played for the SEC championship game, and their bright side and upside is all in front of them. So count me a believer in LSU.

And I think that's going to be a great battle between them and Alabama for who represents the West and the SEC championship game against Georgia. Again, Daniels, he's. He's highly experienced at quarterback. He's athletic. He did a great job running the football. That's going to be a really good team. I think they beat Florida State in week one.

At number eight, I've got USC. So I told you I had kind of a debate in my mind between eight, nine, and ten. Why did USC win out at number eight? Two words. Caleb Williams, I think, is the best quarterback in the country. He's my favorite to win the Heisman trophy. If he doesn't, I think it might be pinnics. But Williams should win the Heisman trophy.

And I'm going to start the push right here. So this is preseason content, and I'm just going to start talking to Heisman voters right now. Do not try to find reasons to not vote for Caleb Williams. Just appreciate the reasons to vote for Caleb Williams. This guy is a generational talent. I believe he's one of the best college quarterbacks we've seen ever. I can't wait to watch him play.

I'm a little bit interested to see how USC, navigates offensively without Travis Dye. Now, I know they brought in transfers and everything, but Dye was pretty important to them. He's got to stay healthy. That's certainly what kind of took them out. They were rolling against Utah in that Pac-12 title game, and then he started coming up lame, kind of the same thing against Utah in the regular season.

But Williams is the real deal, everybody. And I like what USC has. They're still going to be good on offense. You know that with Lincoln Riley. The question's always on the defensive side. they were pitiful defensively. They couldn't tackle anybody. They couldn't tackle a high school team late in the season.

They should be better on defense. The transfers that they got, the recruits that they got, they should be, should be is the big question. But they still get the benefit of the doubt at number eight for me. At number nine is Clemson. It's another team, sneaky. I really, it's so funny. I really like, you know, one through five. It's easy to put those teams there.

I really like six through six through nine. This is, by the way, can we get the 12 team playoff this year? Like this, if we need a year for it's well, this is it because we've got, I think, of the last few years, this is the year where I'm thinking to myself, boy, we've got some depth in college football at the top. In previous years, you'd be like, oh, well, these two teams are clearly the best. You know, after Georgia, you go 10 through 9, every one of those teams could win on any given Saturday. And I'm really, I'm for it. I'm excited about it. Clemson is in at number nine.

Here's the reasons why I love Clemson. Clemson has a quarterback that I believed in a year ago and probably should have started more games. Let's let's face it. DJ Oongolalele was struggling and it should have been Cade Clubneck that came in. And I understand it he struggled in that bowl game against Tennessee. But let's be honest, bowl games that aren't in the CFP. I just, there's not a lot of credence to me in those games. They're so far removed from what bowl games used to be. It's hard for me to evaluate what went on in the Orange Bowl. Having said that, you get Clubnik. He's got his best offensive player in Shipley back. They should be pretty good on the offensive line. And then the most important piece. And this is the one that I think has flown under the radar. Garrett Riley is

their new offensive coordinator. We know what Garrett Riley just did at TCU with Max Duggan and Kendry Miller and Quentin Johnston, they are going to be better on offense. And this is what they have desperately needed over the course of the last few seasons. So here Garrett Riley comes in. And the next time a Riley coached offense has a bad year at quarterback, please let me know because I've never seen it. I've never seen it. It didn't matter if it was Max Duggan or Caleb Williams is a true freshman or anything.

Like Garrett Riley and Lincoln Riley, they understand how to move the ball down the field. I'm in. I'm in on Clemson. They should be better on defense. They won the ACC a year ago. They've got their best games or toughest games at home, a place that they rarely, if ever, lose over the course of the last five and six years. I'm in.

Like, I'm in on Clemson. And they're number nine. And why are they number nine? Because I've got to put them ahead of my number 10 team, which is Florida State. Now, for me, Florida State, I understand the hype. Okay. They had a six-game win streak to end the season. And you know what?

More power to them. I like their returning quarterback a lot. They have built over the course of the last three years under Mike Norvell. And last year seemed like a breakthrough. So I'm in on Florida State. They're in the top 10. So all of you that are going to come at me and be like, you're a Florida State hater, nope.

But I'm just going to tell you why they're number 10 and not higher. Because I see them higher a lot, a lot. They're number 10 because they play Clemson at Clemson. They haven't beat Clemson. God. I mean, it's been a long time. While they bring back their quarterback, and while they won six in a row,

to finish the year a year ago, that win streak was against some terrible teams. And when you look at what they did when the season was still in the balance, I do remember a bit of a losing streak in the middle of the year. I remember being incredibly fortunate against LSU in week one in Brian Kelly's first game at LSU. They don't get the benefit of that doubt. LSU's going to beat them. Clemson's going to beat them. And they're going to be two and two to start the year.

So that's why they're number 10. They may win 10 games. They may go on to have a solid year. I just don't see them winning the ACC and I don't see them beating those two teams. By the way, they're likely going to have to face Clemson again

because if I'm not mistaken, the ACC is doing away with their divisions and the top two teams are going to play in the conference championship game. So like, that's why I'm at with FSU. I think that the schedule is really tough. I thought that win streak was a bit of fool's goal. Do I like them?

Yes. Could they end 10 and 2 and then 10 and 3 and lose the ACC championship game? Yeah, absolutely. Does that mean they're a really good team and likely a top 10 team? Yes. All of that is true while at the same time seeing LSU ahead of them, Clemson ahead of them, both on the schedule in September and realizing that they probably start 2 and 2.

All right, Utah. They're number 11. Death taxes in Utah. That's where we're getting to in college football. love Utah, love Kyle Whittingham, love what they represent. Their biggest question is Cam Rising and his health. If Cam Rising comes back and is healthy, which he should be, obviously tore his knee up in the Rose Bowl and let's hope that he gets back to full

strength. But this is going to be an excellent team, just like they've been for the last few years, winning the Pack 12, going to the Rose Bowl. Rising is a hell of a player. And I get it that they're replacing some pieces on the outside. also get some guys back from injury, love their running back. Their defense is going to be as good as it always is. So Utah's not going anywhere. And they present a hell of a problem for teams like USC, teams like Washington, teams like Oregon. Because look, look at what, look what's happening

all the sudden. Six, eight, 11, all from the pack 12. You're starting to see like, that conference is going to be incredibly difficult and just wait until I get to a couple of the other teams. This is a team that is incredibly consistent year after year, winning big games. They've won the conference, like I said, in back to back. I get it. They have to replace Dalton Kincaid, but they do get Brant Keithy back. Remember, and Keithy's coming back after that ACL. I used to believe that it's like, boy, they've got to win with run game. They've got to win with defense.

You look at the stats, they scored 38 and a half last year per game. It's 11th in the country. Just to give you some sense of where that fell. Washington, offensive juggernaut, averaged 39 and a half. TCU, great year, lost the national championship, 38.8 right there. Those two teams, you would say, like, they were offensive teams. Utah was right there. So they've figured some things out on that side of the ball, and I'm in.

Death Taxes in Utah football. Utah is at 11. Number 12, coming off that breakthrough year with Josh Heipel, I've got Tennessee. What you guys didn't just hear right then was that our producer, Cat, proud, proud Tennessee volunteer. And she gave a little shout, woo, right there in the back with Tennessee at number 12. I like Tennessee. I love what Josh Heppel has done. I'm a big fan of their offense.

While it's hard for me to really evaluate bowl games in the CFP era, their bowl. game was impressive with guys that are now going to be asked to be the central focal point of what they do offensively, Joe Milton at quarterback. That's at least a start. Highball got the win he desperately needed, right? The Tennessee win over Alabama was epic. It announced that they can play with the big boys. They thought that they were there and they thought they could go and give Georgia some problems with that passing game, but that passing game, to be honest with you, is a bit one-dimensional to face a team like Georgia. It's a lot of half-field reads. It's a lot of wide receiver read routes down the field. And if you can't protect the passer, which is going to be

difficult against Georgia, it's really tough to beat that team. You've got to have a dynamic NFL-style passing game, similar to what Ohio State has, similar to what Alabama has, in order to really threaten Georgia. That's why I just don't think Tennessee is a threat to Georgia in the SEC East. and this is when Kat might turn my microphone off. Because it's just the case. Even with that game being in Knoxville, I get it what happened against Alabama, but it's not the same matchup against Georgia.

Joe Milton is going to be quite the story because I saw him when he was a backup in Michigan. Like the guy has a great arm. And in theory, his arm, his skill set really fits what they want to do offensively. But boy, like the accurate. issues. That's going to be interesting. They were replacing their offensive coordinator. I do like Squirrel White, though, as a replacement for Jalen Hyatt,

Brew McCoy, you know, those guys, like, they've got some pieces on the outside. And the schedule, I think it fits for them. Getting Georgia at home fits for them. 12 is just a good spot. Like, I just don't think they're going to compete for a college football playoff. This is not the same type of team or year that they had a year ago. cat. Number 13, Oregon. Man, we are just like throwing the pack 12 right in here. Bo Nix back for his 74th year of college football, which is amazing. 47 starts so far in his career. So he's going to be experienced a lot of hype surrounding that. I like that. I like their run game. Dan Lanning, his style of football. I think it fits. I loved what they were able to do that win against

North Carolina and the Holiday Bowl. I think it was a good. building block for them in the off season. A couple of concerns for me are replacing that veteran offensive line. That offensive line was so good for them. And a big reason why they had such a good year a year ago, now they're going to have to replace a bunch of those guys. We'll see if they're able to do it. Nix might be under a lot more pressure.

It might be more difficult to run the ball with the level of execution that they did a year ago. And they're replacing their offensive coordinator. Kenny Dillingham, whom I'm. I'm a huge fan of, and now he's the head coach at Arizona State. Bucky Irving is a quality player. 13 is about right for them. But again, you're starting to see kind of the problem for the PAC 12.

Any one of these teams, I think, could compete for a playoff spot, namely Washington or SC, but the problem is the depth of the conference in the way that they schedule. All right, at 14. We had a big debate about this, by the way, the 14th team. Me and Steve. Steve is like my brain. So blame him. I told you we weren't going to talk about Texas until they did anything.

The debate was, is 14 too high for Texas? And the answer was no. So Texas lands at 14. I could make an argument that they should be higher than that. Just saying, their roster suggests that they should be higher than that. Their quarterback suggests they should be higher than that. The conference that they play in, by the way, and their margin from a roster standpoint suggests that they should be higher than that.

But they're not. Why? Because they perpetually underachieve. And we said on this show, we said it, we aren't, we're not going to do it. We're not falling for Texas until they do something. So go in Tuscaloosa and I'll talk about you all day long. Now, having said that, a little tidbit on Texas, love their roster, defense much better than you would, I think then you would expect.

When you dive into the numbers, you're like, oh, they were the number two defense. in the big 12. Like their defense was not bad. They returned 10 starters on the offensive side, have to replace Bijon Robinson, but this is an offense that should move the ball, really good wide receivers. I think Ewers is a heck of a player.

And he, when I saw him in Dallas at the Big 12 media days, to me, there was just a different level of urgency about everything that he was doing and saying. So Texas is going to be at 14. Should they win the Big 12? Yeah, they really should. the biggest question is how they play in tight games. Okay, the close games issue has been a problem.

They're four in ten and one score games under Steve Sarkeesian. They were 14 and 13 in those same games under Tom Herbin. All five losses last year were by seven points or less, including Alabama. Like, come on, what are we doing? Four of which were against top 15 teams. This team, if they can just get over that hump, and how many times do we say this about Texas? This is why we don't talk about you until you achieve anything.

Like win the close games. Don't play down to the level of competition. Okay, that's it. I'm going to move on from Texas now. Number 15, and this is one of my favorites, by the way, because it gives me a fifth team from the PAC 12 in the top 15. Oregon State. Oregon State.

So here's why I love Oregon State. Oregon State was, um, boxing with one hand tied behind their back a year ago and did it incredibly well. Like think about what a year that they had. The big wins down the stretch and they were so one-dimensional on the offensive side. And I think that could be fixed. Now, the DJ Ooyunga Lele struggle at Clemson.

Yes. Do I believe he should be better at Oregon State? Yes. Why? because the offense at Clemson was way too simplistic. Okay? And there weren't a lot of answers given to the quarterback. When I broke it down, it just, I didn't love their offense.

There was a lot of, hey, our guys are just better than you. And let's roll out some basic concepts. And we're going to go win. That's going to be very different from what Clemson is going to be this year with Garrett Riley. Now under Jonathan Smith, this is a guy that has to be creative because his personnel suggests that he needs to be creative. He's going to have a run game. And I believe that Uungaleli actually plays really well. In fact, I think that he's going to be one of the bright stories in college football,

judging based on what happened at Clemson. And then he's going to go and I think he's going to find a lot of success under Jonathan Smith, who's a former quarterback who really understands play calling, who's going to give him that run game as a help. And it's going to be more intricate. He's going to have tight ends to throw to. So I think I like Oregon State. I like their toughness, their top three running.

are back, including Damien Martinez. He was the freshman of the year in the PAC 12. Four of their five starters are back on the offensive line. Like, their defense finished number one of the PAC 12 last year for Trent Bray, their defense coordinator. Like, I'm in. I like it. I like what Oregon State is bringing. And yes, that's a grand total of five PAC 12 teams in the top 15. Pretty remarkable. All right. The last few, let's go a little bit quicker. At 16, I've got Oklahoma. It comes down to this. They were 0 and 5. one score of games, I think that that turns around.

I think that when you look at the two games that they lost by significant margins, their quarterback, Dylan Gabriel, was not in those games. If he can stay healthy, they should be better. Their defense under Brent Venables should be better. They've recruited much better. Like everything about this says that they should. This is also another wait and see. They're the biggest competition for Texas.

OU is at 16. That's a sleeper team for me. All those one score losses that could easily turn around. they could easily be a 10-win team and play for the Big 10 championship. At 17, here's another sneaky team, also from the Big 12, Kansas State. Nobody wants to talk about Kansas State, but this is the defending Big 12 champ with an excellent offensive line and a quarterback that got a lot of time last year back for them in Will Howard. Will Howard was 4-0 in games for Kansas State last year when he had to fill in for Adrian Martinez.

Now, they have to replace Deuce Vaughn and he's maybe one of my. favorite players ever in college football history. But this is a roster and this is a group that's going to maintain its toughness. They're going to be good on defense. I like Will Howard. Kansas State's going to be a really tough out in the Big 12. At 18, I've got Notre Dame. Notre Dame really, I could easily put them higher.

I love their offensive line. I think Sam Hartman's going to be better for them. I just questioned they're losing their offensive coordinator, Tommy Reese. They lose Michael Mayer, who was just a huge part of their offense. And with Marcus Freeman, I'll be honest, he is a wait and see for me in terms of whether this is going to work at Notre Dame. Like I said, their offensive line is going to keep them in games. And I think that's going to be a hard matchup for Ohio State, similar to why Ohio State doesn't match up great against Michigan. If I was Notre Dame, I would line up with that offensive.

of line and go right at Ohio State and that matchup in September. But Hartman's a big addition for them at the quarterback position. 19. This is where we get like the whole big 12 kind of swath because I've got TCU here. TCU

is going to take a step back. Now I get heat when I say that because everyone's like, you don't like TCU? No, no, no. I love TCU. But remember, anything short of, well, there's only two steps forward for TCU.

They either have to win the Big 12 or have to win the national championship and still make a playoff appearance in order for me to say like, okay, well, like they stayed even or took a step forward. So are they going to take a step back? Likely, yes.

This is a team that I still think is an eight, nine win team, maybe 10 win team. Chandler Morris is going to be the quarterback. The bigger loss is Garrett Riley, the offensive coordinator. But If you take a look at what TCU was in those big moments, all those close games, you will see and go back and watch them because I have. You see Quentin Johnston making a huge place.

Kendry Miller making huge runs and Max Duggan willing his team down the field to some victories in close games. Those three guys aren't on that team anymore. Their play caller no longer there. That's a lot to overcome. So I think 19 is generous. To me, it's benefit of the doubt. And they open with what I think is going to be a tougher game than what odds makers are giving it with Colorado, who's going to be much better. And their lack of depth is not going to hurt them in an opening week like it would in the end of September or October or even into November.

All right. Number 20, Ole Miss. I like Ole Miss. Ole Miss started 7 and 0 last year, lost 5 of 6 when their schedule got tougher. This is when it's harder because there's a lot of teams that you could just throw in 20 and below. I think that there's a lot of really good teams, one to nine, 10 to about 19, I believe in, and I think could have really solid years. And then 20 and below, there's 15 teams that I could have put in this kind of mashup.

Ole Miss is going to get the benefit of the doubt. Why, Junkins led the SEC in rushing. I love him at running back. And I believe Kiffin, regardless of what happens in their quarterback battle, He's going to have a guy that's going to play well because I believe in him on the offensive side. He is killing it in the portal. Remember Pete Golding, the defensive coordinator for Alabama, is going to show up at Ole Miss. So we'll see what happens there.

All right. At 21, North Carolina, why is North Carolina get the benefit of the doubt? Well, I know that they lost a lot of pieces, but they've got a great quarterback, folks. A great quarterback. This is the Drake May ranking. He's going to have to pull them along as far as as he goes. will go. I knew I liked him on film.

And then I watched him live in the Holiday Bowl. You're seeing, if you're watching on YouTube, that throw right there, I lost my mind in the booth. I was just like, are you serious? What are we doing? This guy is phenomenal. I believe he's the second best quarterback in college football. He should be the number two pick in the NFL draft.

Dude's amazing. He's kind of a mini Josh Allen. We've got a mini Patrick Mahomes and Caleb Williams. We've got a mini Josh Allen and Drake May. And that's why North Carolina is going to sit right here. at 21 at 22. Sorry, I chuckle, but this is just going to be a funny follow all year.

It's Iowa. Iowa, number one total defense in the country, dead last total offense in the country a year ago. That's impossible to do. Like, how do you do that? You can't try to do that. And they were able to do it.

Iowa should have a really good team. And I actually think they are going to represent the Big Ten West in the Big Ten championship game because their defense, you know, is going to be good. I don't care who they lost. Their defense is going to be fine. Offensively, they should be better. They should be better.

The Brian Farrant's 25 points per game thing, that's going to be a media storyline. As long as they don't focus on it, they should be all right. They're better at quarterback with Kate McNamara transferring in. They get Eric All to come in and help out at Tide End where they lost a quality player. Caleb Johnson is a really good running back,

averaged over five yards per carry as a true freshman. And the O-Lyne returns all five from a group that was really young and finally started to get it going late last season. This is going to be a traditional Iowa nine-win team represent the West and the Big Ten championship game. I mean, tell me I'm wrong. And everyone's going to be like, Brian Ferrence, Brian Ferrence. I hope that this 25 points per game.

In fact, do the right thing, Iowa. take the dumb clause out of there. Can we do that? Because by the way, it's only going to be a distraction for your team and for your players. So it's a disservice to Cade McNamara. It's a disservice to Caleb Johnson

for them to be held to some arbitrary standard of points per game to save their coach's job. Like, come on. Like, let's take that clause out. Let's evaluate Brian Ference like any other offensive coordinator would get evaluated at the end of the year or mid-year,

whenever it's not like, that's how this should be going on. And I trust that that's hopefully what will happen before the year. At 23, I've got Wisconsin. A lot of people believe in Wisconsin. They certainly could be better than this. I've seen them higher than 23 in some rankings. I understand that. The personnel is fascinating.

Phil Longo, their new offensive coordinator, Luke Fickle, their new head coach. I will just say, this is my one concern for Wisconsin. I could see them having a great year. When you change the foundational identity of a program that has been the identity of the program regardless of head coach over the course of decades, it's a really difficult thing to do.

And that's a bit of what Fickle is trying to do at Wisconsin. Changing the scheme of the defense from that vaunted 3-4 under Jim Leonard to now a 3-35 stack, bringing Phil Longo in. Is it going to be more RPO, less run-game-centric? I'm just saying like that's just a cautionary tale. Other people have tried that.

But boy, when it's institutional in terms of the foundational aspects of the way they play football, it's hard to change going forward. At 24, a fan base that just you and I get along. We're like this. Texas Tech, you, me, love it. I do love Texas Tech. Joey McGuire has done a hell of a job at Texas Tech. They beat Oklahoma in Texas last year, got eight wins.

They have Tyler Shuck back. And, you know, over the last couple of years, when Shuck has been in the lineup, they're like 8 and 1. Health for them is going to be huge at the quarterback position. They went 4 and 0 in one score games last year. They were 6 and 1 at home, 1 and 4 on the road. There's margin for them to take the next step. So they potentially could take the next step.

you can tell though the big 12 is kind of deep in this area from 14 on I've got a few of these big 12 teams and we'll see how it all plays out and to round out my top 25 I've got UCLA there was a lot of teams I considered here I considered A&M

South Carolina Tulane I think could have a pretty good team I considered Texas San Antonio UTSA North Carolina State Kentucky I even gave some consideration but I landed on UCLA and the reason is is because when I was around Chip this offseason, there was a quiet confidence.

Chip doesn't blow smoke. I think Dante Moore will likely be the quarterback at some point, whether it's early or not, I'm not sure, but at some point, there's precedent with this. He did it with Dorian Thompson-Ree-R early in his career, remember, and went through some growing pains in his first year in order to get to where they were a year ago. It's a good roster. It's a much better roster than what they had three years ago. And I think that they're going to be pretty good on that offensive side.

and he likes the running back transfer. So we'll see how that plays out. So there you go. There you have it. There's my top 25 as we get jumping into the 2023 season. Remember, subscribe to the YouTube channel. Brand new YouTube channel, Joel Clatch Show, exclusive content right there. Make sure to subscribe.

If you're listening to this show on a podcast, please go ahead and subscribe to that as well. Rate and review the show. and I tell you what, I can't wait for the season. It's going to be a phenomenal season and we'll have all the content for you as we get things started. That'll do it. Next week, more preview content.

I'm going to dive into each conference and give you the major storyline in each Power 5 conference. That's coming up next Monday.