The Joel Klatt Show: A College Football Podcast - Ohio St vs Notre Dame: what's at stake & should Michigan and Alabama fans be worried?

Episode Date: September 20, 2023

FOX Sports’ lead college football analyst Joel Klatt dives into the massive implications of this weekend’s game in South Bend between Ohio State and Notre Dame. He considers what a win or loss would do to the perception of each program going forward. Then, he checks in on the current state of several major programs that struggled their way through games in Week 3, including Georgia, Michigan, Texas, Alabama, Tennessee and more. He wraps up by considering the fact that we don’t know who the 2nd best team in the SEC is this year and whether the conference will continue to receive the benefit of the doubt in the rankings over schools from the Pac-12. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

On today's episode of the Joel Clatchew, could this be the most important Notre Dame game in 30 years? I tell you which major fan base should feel duped by their team. And who's the second best team in the SEC? That's coming up. College football has never been better. Interest has never been higher. I believe that we are at the dawn of the golden age of college football. It was an epic day of college football.

It was one of those days where you fall in love with the sport all over again. Hey, hey, what's up? Joel Clad here. This is the Joel Clad show and welcome to the show. The show is presented by Hampton by Hilton. Lots to get into today. And like I just can't wait for this week of college football. And I'm sure you can't wait either.

So we've got a lot to get into. We got to discuss this Notre Dame Ohio State game. And rather than from the matchup standpoint, I really want to take more of a 30,000 foot view of this game. And what the result could mean for each team. So we'll get into that. We're going to check in on a lot of great fan bases, big fan bases around the country. I'll tell you exactly how those fan bases should be feeling at this point through three weeks. And then we've got to at least evaluate the SEC and talk

about who the second best team is in the SEC and then a little Pact 12 love at the end as well. Remember, if you want to follow the show on social media, you can do that wherever you decide to social media. That's right. right, at Joel Clat Show. You can get all of our content there on the social media sites wherever you're at. You can follow me personally. I'm on X at Joel Clat. And by the way, the best way to follow us is just wherever you get your podcast, if you're a listener, go ahead and subscribe.

Go ahead, like the show, leave us a review. Love it. If you watch the show on YouTube, go ahead and subscribe. Like it below. and we also will have exclusive content on the YouTube channel just for you. Let's get into it. Okay, we've got obviously a huge week. We got all these ranked matchups,

and we're all excited for all of them, certainly. But one stands above the rest, and I think that we all agree on that. Ohio State's going to travel to South Bend and take on Notre Dame. And this game immediately, yeah, it was big before the year, but now it's become, I feel like, even bigger. And it's because of how the first three weeks of the season have played out. And I'm going to go back to a point that I made on Monday's show.

And those of you who watched, thank you. It has been a lot of you, by the way, watched and listened. Numbers are great for the show. I really appreciate you, the college football fan, for joining us. And make sure to share it with a friend because the more of us that are talking about the sport in a positive way, the better. Now, I said on Monday that there. is a difference this year than what we have experienced over the last eight to 10 years in college football. In the last decade or more, really, you could make an argument that you would go to number one or two, maybe number three in the country.

And then you could draw a clear line right there under number three, sometimes two, and say, okay, everybody above the line, you're elite, everybody below the line. good, clearly not in the same class as those above the line. There was a real point of demarcation between the teams that could go win the national championship and the teams that were just playing well and happened to be ranked in the top 10 and sometimes even in the top five. I think we can all agree on that. So regardless of where teams finished in the rankings or how highly they were ranked, I think we all know that there were only a few teams over the last decade plus that were actually national championship caliber. Now this year, excited to announce for everybody, this year feels different. We went over this on Monday. If you haven't listened to or watched, by the way,

go back and do it because it'll frame this whole conversation for you. Now, I feel like we've got between, shoot, nine and 11 teams that I would be not surprised one bit if they wound up in the college football playoff. And I wouldn't be surprised one bit if they actually. actually wound up as national champions. Now one bit. And I get it. Like Georgia's still out there. Yep.

I understand. But based on what we've seen so far during the course of the season, I think that we've got a lot of really good teams. I don't know if any of them are elite above the line clearly better than everybody else teams. This is a positive, especially when you start to look at this game, Notre Dame and Ohio State. So once you understand that about the season and how the season is going, so far, then you start to look at this game in a totally different light. Now, the winner of this game all of a sudden sets themselves up to be not just in the

playoff conversation, but one of the teams that we can legitimately say, yep, they can win the national championship. So let's just say for a moment, okay, let's, and we're going to do this for both teams, okay? So Bukai fans don't get all upset. This is not a pick. I'm going to do this for both teams. I'm going to take both results and evaluate what that would mean for the season, for the programs, and for really all of us moving forward. Let's say Notre Dame were to win at home on Saturday. Let's just say, they've actually, if you look at the numbers, reached the top five at some point in five of the last seven seasons. And yet, wouldn't this feel different because of the framing? I just gave you a moment ago. You see, because

as well as Notre Dame has played, let's be fair. I don't think any of them, any of those seasons or any of us would have put them above the line. I think that that's a fair and honest assessment. In none of those seasons did I feel like, you know what, they can beat, insert above the line team here. Bama, Clemson, Georgia, even in a couple of those years like Ohio State, like in 19. I just never felt that. And I think if you're being honest, you would agree, even if you're a Notre Dame fan. Now, this year is different because that line has moved.

And if they are able to beat Ohio State, don't they feel like a national title contender? Yeah. Yeah, they do. That's why this could be the most significant game that Notre Dame has played in at least 30 years. Because it's been that long. It's been that long. Let's just take a little, you know, meander through history here because I know people are going to be saying like, this is crazy.

They played for a national championship in 2012 and they were in the playoffs, so on and so far. They were never above the line. If we're honest, if we're honest, okay? Let's peddle in honesty here. since 19 really 94 so that's 30 seasons Notre Dame is 4 and 19 in top 10 matchups 4 and 19 here were the wins they beat Clemson who was number one in 2020

they didn't have Trevor Lawrence that was the DJU game they later lost to them in the ACC championship game and let's face it that wasn't a close contest all right they beat them on an emotional night at home I never at any point said to myself like yep That's an above the line team. Remember, where was the line back then in 2020? Two, three, maybe.

They weren't above that line. And if we're being honest, we would all agree with that. They beat number seven Stanford in 2018. Weren't above the line in that year. They beat number eight, Oklahoma in 2012. Yeah, maybe this is pre-playoff. We'll get to 2012 in a moment. And they beat number six, Texas in 1996.

Okay. So what was different, though? Okay, let's go to 2012. You could be telling me all you want. Like, nope, Joel, they played for a national championship. They played against Alabama. That was an undefeated team with Manti Tao. That was an above the line team.

I'm here to tell you they weren't. They weren't. There were two teams above the line, maybe a third in 2012. I know because I remember watching the SEC championship game. I remember watching that game out of Atlanta, and Aaron Murray and Todd Gurley and Georgia are driving late. against Alabama and Alabama is a great team. These are two great teams. Mark Rick is the coach for Georgia and it's like, is Georgia finally going to beat Alabama? They're driving, they're driving.

They finally get stopped at the five-yard line. And what did we say about that SEC championship game? You know what? Whoever wins this, however this goes, that's the team that's going to win the national championship because both of them were clearly better than Notre Dame. None of us gave Notre Dame a chance in that national championship. None of us. And by the way rightly so and that's how the championship game played out that's how the playoff games have played out when notre dame has gone in there that's how the national championship game has played out but this year feels different that's why irish fans saturday could be the biggest win you've had since 1994 and i and i don't think that that's hyperbolic to suggest you see pre 94 from 88 to 93

they were a powerhouse they were competing for national championships in 88 uh 89 90 91. They're in that Orange Bowl a couple of years in a row with Colorado. They were 14 and three during those years in top 10 matchups and one tie. So think about that. So from 88 to 93, they're 14 and 3, one tie in top 10 matchups. Since then, they're 4 and 19. And even in those four, I never would have categorized them as above the line. If they win Saturday night, they are an above the line team. Now, the line has moved, but that's a good thing for Irish fans. That's why this game is so important. It will legitimize them as a playoff contender, surely, and even a national championship caliber team. They finally have the requisite quarterback.

They've got a good running game. I like their skill on the outside. I like what they are at the line of scrimmage. And we'll see if their defense can hold up. This would not be just a great top 10 win for Notre Dame. This would mean something very different for them. Now, if they lose, yikes. They will still not have beat Ohio State since the 30s. They would not be considered an above the line team at that point. They would fall down past that 11, depending on what happens in Ole Miss, Alabama, right? Like, it wouldn't be good.

You would be like, well, here we go again if I'm a Notre Dame fan. But if they win, you look at their schedule and you're like, oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. This is real. This is real. Look at their schedule. They would go at 18 Duke, which all of a sudden becomes a tough game at Louisville. Then their home against number 5 USC. That becomes really, really interesting.

By week, home against Pitt, at Clemson, which all of a sudden doesn't look like what it looked to be at the preseason. Buy week. And then their last two. Home to Wake and at Stanford. If they win Saturday night, that's all the sudden incredibly manned. outside of hosting USC.

So I tell you what, this is as big of a game as I can remember for Notre Dame. Because this is really for the first time in a long time. In my mind, I'm like, you know what, this is a coin flip game. They are on the level with Ohio State. And if they can win this one at home with the more veteran quarterback, watch out. Watch out for the Irish. Now, let's flip this over. What if Ohio State wins?

Okay? So let's just take a look at an Ohio State win. First of all, you would be able to audibly hear an exhale out of Columbus. Because every single fan would be like, man, it's been so stressful in these three weeks and we're beating everyone by only 20. We talked about this on Monday. Like, Ohio State is under the most scrutiny of any team. in America in college football.

Even more so than even Bama, maybe. I think those two are obviously the top two. We evaluate Ohio State. Like we evaluate the Dallas Cowboys. And so if they can go and win on the road with a young quarterback, there will be a massive exhale. Like, okay, we're still good. We're still good.

It will be one of the best wins on their resume that they've had in quite some time. And it can start to put to bed this narrative that, that Ryan Day only wins games against teams that he's supposed to and doesn't win the big ones. You remember back in the early 2000s, I always remember this, like Bob Stoops got the nickname Big Game Bob, because they always seem to win big games. And yeah, that waned over the years, but that kind of a moniker always stuck with him. Well, unfortunately, for Ryan, he's got these incredible numbers against everybody else in the country. And then when he goes to the playoff or faces Michigan, those numbers go the opposite direction. This would go a long way.

If he were able to go on the road with a young quarterback and this team and win at Notre Dame, that would go a long way in dispelling that narrative. Ryan's an excellent coach. You know, Day is easily in the top five in college football and coaches. That's why I think it's laughable, this narrative of like, well, he would be on the hot seat. What do you mean, hot seat? Who are you going to get? Like, stop it. What are we doing? You guys all think Mike Vrable's going to come back?

Why would he come back? Why would he come back? To be under this level of scrutiny and have to go recruit in the NIL and portal age? Come on. Come on. What are we doing? What are we doing? I also believe that this would be a real feather in the cap for the team from a confidence

perspective. And this would propel them through their schedule, which will be difficult. You know, they've got a buy after this game. Then they're going to be against Maryland, which I think is a good football team at Purdue, home to Penn State. Massive game, obviously.

And that Penn State team is specifically constructed to match up with Ohio State. They've got to go to Wisconsin, or excuse me, to Wisconsin, at Rutgers, which all of a sudden is playing better. Michigan State, which looks like maybe the worst team of the Big Ten right now with everything that's going on, Minnesota and then at Michigan.

So like their schedule, even with a win, doesn't all of a sudden open up like Notre Dame's does. But certainly you look at this and you're thinking to yourself, okay, Ohio State is what Ohio State has been if they win this game. Now, if they lose, it would be a third straight big game that they would have lost. Michigan last year, Georgia last year, and then Notre Dame. It would be just days fourth loss in five seasons outside of the playoff, but it would be a big one. they could probably still make the playoff, in particular if they could run the table in the Big Ten and win the Big Ten championship,

but it might be more difficult, obviously, because Notre Dame would be considered a favorite or evaluated higher than them. So it gets more interesting. It gets more interesting. It's a win means more for Notre Dame and a loss means more for Notre Dame as it relates to this season,

the playoff, and a potential national championship. but in terms of narrative surrounding the program, a win or a loss means more to Ohio State. All right, let's move on. Hey, let's go to the weekend check-in. And this segment is sponsored by Hampton by Hilton. Hilton for the stay. I'm going to list off some teams here,

and then I'm going to tell the fan bases how you should be feeling right now. Okay, are we ready? I'm really excited about this. Hold on. There we go. Georgia. Let's start with Georgia.

Okay, Georgia, that wasn't very good, 14 to 3. However, Georgia fans, you know how you should feel right now? You should feel fine. You should feel fine. Because your schedule is very weak. You're not getting threatened in the East. At least I don't think so. I mean, look at the pillow fight in the swamp.

I don't mean to throw shade out there, but Utah handled Florida. And then Florida handled Tennessee. Is the east that tough? Probably not. Probably not. That's why you should feel fine. You've won 20 straight games now, 36 of their last 37. They host UAB this week at Auburn next week.

And I know Auburn's 3-0, but like, come on. Come on. So, Georgia, you're down 14-3 at home last week, and you know what? You should feel fine. You should feel fine. I think they have the easiest path to the playoff. All right, let's move on. How about Michigan? Michigan fans. Now, I got a lot of people thinking that I threw shade at Michigan and J.J. McCarthy on Monday when I suggested that we all imagine a scenario in which Ohio State was the team that was in a 7-6 game in the middle of the second quarter with Bowling Green with their quarterback throwing three interceptions. I stand by that. I absolutely stand by that. We would eviscerate Ohio State if that was the case. And we don't do that with Michigan,

in part because we know their style of play. They do this. They don't just blow people out by 90 points. It's not going to be high flying. We've seen J.J. McCarthy at times, you know, throw interceptions, and it seems to be okay. And we've seen him bounce back from that. We're going to get Jim Harbaugh back. But with what's going on in the Big Ten East, namely Penn State and Ohio state, I would feel antsy if I were you, Michigan fans, because the one thing that will derail your season faster than anything else is if J.J. McCarthy starts to turn the ball over. So that's why I would be antsy. I know you're going to run the football fine. I really do. I'm pretty confident that the defense is going to play really well.

I think the one unknown is how efficient can JJ play? Now, he was really good a year ago until late, obviously, the TCU game, it got a little bit loose, and guess what? They lost. So I would be a little antsy right now if I was a Michigan fan based off of the fact

that my quarterback threw three interceptions, and I've watched him on tape, they were not good. He's got to play better than what he played on Saturday. I'm interested to see how much better they will play as a team and efficient. They will play as a team with Jim Harbaugh back as head coach and we'll see. They don't have a ranked team on their schedule until they face Penn State, at least not ranked until right now.

They play at Penn State November 11th. Similar easy schedule to Georgia and yet I'm more antsy if I'm a Michigan fan. Why? Because my quarterback just threw three bad interceptions. And that's the one thing that would derail this season. in particular in the Big Ten East, you cannot lose two games in the Big Ten and be okay. You won't go to the playoff. The only way that they lose twice, in my estimation, is if J.J. McCarthy turns the ball over.

So Michigan fans, feel a little antsy. Feeling a little antsy. How about Texas? How about Texas? Texas feeling big in their britches, right? Since 2018, nobody in America has played in more one-score games than Texas. So you know what, Texas fans? You know how you should feel right now?

Even after that big win over Alabama and Tuscaloosa, which by the way doesn't quite feel the same after what they did at UAB. But you know how you should feel Longhorn fans? Forever cautious. Forever cautious. Because your team, like it or not, plays to the level of their competition constantly. Constantly.

again last week. 10-10 against Wyoming? I heard some people on Twitter and they've got to be Texas fans being like, I don't know, Wyoming's pretty gritty team. You can't claim that you've arrived and that you're back because you beat Alabama in Tuscaloosa and then say,

Wyoming's kind of gritty. No, that's not how this works. So Texas fans, forever cautious, forever cautious. They always have the talent advantage in the Big 12, and yet they constantly find themselves in games where they're like down a score in the fourth quarter at, I don't know, name the school, Texas Tech, Oklahoma State.

You know exactly what I'm talking about, Texas fans. You've lived it for how many years? Last year, you beat the doors off of Oklahoma. You got to like, our quarterback is back. We've arrived. And guess what? Because he had gotten injured, they went to Texas Tech and lost and they continued to play one score games.

And inevitably, you put yourself in that position that often. you will lose some of them. You will lose. And if they continue to do that this year, they will lose a game that they shouldn't. So forever cautious is how I would be viewing this team if I was a Texas fan. They've got to find some sort of internal motivation. And I even hesitate to use the term motivation because it's not motivation. It's a standard. Texas has got to find a leadership group on the team. And by the way, this can't be the coaches. This has got to be the players. I'm talking to you, Texas players. You've got to have an internal standard where you don't play to the level of your competition. It can't be just about the winner loss. It has to be about

your standard. You see, people ask me about culture and programs all the time. Like, oh, who's got good culture? Who's got bad culture? What coaches build great culture and coaches don't build great culture. Coaches don't build culture. Listen to be very carefully. Coaches do not build culture. Coaches set expectations and have rules. That's what a coach does. Sets expectations and he has rules that the team has to abide by. Culture is when a group of leaders on that team within the team, within the locker room, have an internal expectation and standard that goes above what the coach's expectation and rules are. And then that becomes the standard by which everyone else is held accountable.

That's a culture. It can be in the way you carry yourself, in the way you play, in the way you prepare. Culture is held and built and established by those within the locker room. So this is a player issue at Texas. Hold yourselves accountable to a new state. standard. Don't play the level of competition. So fan base, guess what? Forever cautious. Florida State. Let's go to Florida State. How about that game last weekend? Barn Burmer. Barn burner, excuse me. And really, Florida State got fortunate that they won this game.

I would be very anxious if I was Florida State, very anxious because of the way the season has gone. I've been, I'm anxious if I'm a Florida State fan because you took me up really high with a dominant second half against LSU, which all of us praised and rightly so. And then you kind of took us down like a roller coaster. You took us all the way down to like, can we beat BC? Like, please, even when BC had every opportunity in the world to win that game. And meanwhile, on the high part, I thought to myself, if I'm an FSU fan, we're fine at Clemson. Oh, we got Clemson.

We're clearly the best team of the ACC. We're a playoff contender. Now we went down the roller coaster. We barely won at Boston College. And I'm thinking to myself like, oh, now I've got a lot of anxiety about going to Death Valley a place that we basically don't win. So that's why I'm anxious.

Like, which is the real Florida State? Which is the one I'm going to get? By the way, copy and paste what I just said about the Texas players for the Florida State players, hold an internal standard. And it's hard for college kids. It's really hard. They're distracted. They go to class.

They've got personal issues, a lot of them. and not in a bad way. I'm just saying like personal lives. So getting kids to concentrate to the level of detail and execute the level of detail necessary to hold a really high standard week in week in week out, almost impossible in college football. Almost impossible.

So Knowles fans, this is kind of like an oh crap feeling. Oh, crap. We thought this was going to be a lot easier than now it's turning out to be. And now I'm anxious because we got to go face Clemson and what I thought was going to be an easy win, I don't really know now, based on the performance last week. All right, let's go to Tennessee.

Tennessee. Last season was such a high for Tennessee. It really was. First double-digit win season since 2007. That was the former era. They did everything right and everything came together. And Hendon Hooker and Jalen Hyatt and Tillman, Darnell Wright, the offensive line,

even the way the defense played at times was good. And you know what? You know how you should feel, Tennessee fan? Duped. You got duped. You got totally duped. Because guess what? You thought that the program had elevated to that point

where you were an upper echelon SEC program. Not the case. You had some upper echelon talent. And there's a huge difference. huge. Joe Milton is not anywhere nearly as good of a quarterback as Hendon Hooker. That's just a fact. And I like Joe Milton a lot. The wide receiver group is not Jalen Hyatt and company like last year. The defense has not been up to par. You got duped into feeling like your program had arrived at a level in which they had not

arrived at. A few players took you to a mountain top and duped you into thinking that the entire program was on that mountain top. And it's just not the case. And now when they walk out the door, here we are. And you know what? This is even more evidence of how amazing a job Nick Saban has done for 15 years and what Kirby Smart has done and even what Dabo Sweeney did for a number of years. It's insanely hard to have great team after great team after great team and constantly put yourself on the level of the elite in your conference or the country. It's almost impossible. That's why it's really hard.

And this is the evidence of that. This is the evidence of that. Tennessee fans were duped. We were all duped into believing Tennessee was something that they were not. And now a Florida team, which by the way was pretty average, copy and paste the week one drubbing at Utah when Utah had like nine guys out from their starting lineup, including their starting quarterback, and then Tennessee goes to the swamp and gets housed. Wasn't close.

Wasn't close. We were all duped, and Tennessee fans, you were duped as well. Last one. Alabama. All right. You're not going to like this, Bama fans. But if I were you, this is like panic. Panic.

And everyone's going to take this screenshot and get all upset. And you know what? Just hear me out. This team is different. You and I both know that, Bama fan. This is not what you have been in the last five or six years since the offense shifted and has been more high profile and high powered. We both know that. The offensive line has some problems in past protection.

Not what you have been at wide receiver and clearly not what you have been at quarterback. Okay. Now, if you've listened to this show for any amount of time, you know that I still believe in Alabama. And in the quick cycle that is college football now with the transfer portal, Alabama is not done. Nick Saban is not done. Okay. However, if you're going to have a slide this year, you know why you should be panicked? Because it's like, not like this. It's like, no, no, no. If we're going to go out this year, we can't go out like this. We can't go out like this. we can't go out losing to a former assistant in Steve Sarkesian in Texas,

although you know what? It's like, I mean, they're really good and they've been building for a while and you can get. Not Kiffin. Not like this. I'm panicked if I'm a ban of fan. I'm like, I can't. You know why you should be panicked? It's because it's Ole Miss coming to town.

And not that Ole Miss is that great. It's just like, no, no, not like this. Not like this. Like, okay, we're not going to be great this year. Maybe we could build. Maybe we could still win the West. You know, and we gave the blueprint of what Alabama should be. But dear God, please, no, not Kiffin.

Kiffin's not going to put the nail in our coffin this year. Like, that's why I'm panicked if I'm a Bama fan, because it's Lane Kiffin. Of all the people and the tweeting and the incessant like, oh, he's the goat. Oh, toughest place to win ever. And all this stuff. And it's like, he's setting you up. And that's why I would be panicked if I was. A Crimson Tide fan.

Because like not him. Why does it have to be him? Not this week. Not this team. Why do we have to play this? No. No. Please.

Please God. Fama fans might be time to panic this week. Hey, it's my favorite time of year. As you know, it is the football season. I take it seriously. So when I'm traveling on the road to watch my favorite teams, I can't risk calling the wrong play with where I stay. Wherever I go, I know that I can count on Hampton by Hilton.

I can depend on their comfortable rooms and their warm and friendly service. And their free hot breakfast is an absolute game changer. Whether you're cheering on your team from the stands or never leaving the tailgate, Hampton by Hilton will always give you that win. All right. Last thing before we get out of here today is I think we have to at least talk about in the vein of the two teams that we just talked about, well, really three with Tennessee in there as well, and Florida, really. Who's the second best team in the SEC?

I think that's a legitimate question. You know, we've had years where we have this and have to pose this question in other conferences. We've had this conversation a lot when it comes to the Big Ten, in particular, like, 2019 year you're looking around and you're like, well, Ohio State is elite. And it's like, well, who's the second best team? We don't really know. And I think that right now, at least, you can at least assume Georgia is an elite team. and above the line team.

And then everybody else is right now below the line. LSU is 12, Bama is 13, Ole Miss is 15, Tennessee is 23, Florida 25. Four of those teams have one loss. Who's the second best team? And candidly, I don't know because every one of those teams is flawed, every one of them. Now, here's what ends up happening,

and it shouldn't this year. but what ends up happening, like, for instance, this week, Ole Miss and Bama play. If Ole Miss wins, everyone will just say, or the national media in this case, will be like, oh, well, they beat an undefeated SEC team. Even though we don't really know if Ole Miss is that good, and then we'll prop Bama up and they'll get a big bump.

And Mississippi, Ole Miss, will drop down just a little bit because, well, it's Bama and they were on the road. Okay. LSU gets housed in the second half against Florida State. housed. Wasn't close. Out-coached, out-personnel, quarterback completely out-played, and somehow they're still 12th, even though Florida State struggled with Boston College on the road. Again, make it make sense. Tennessee hasn't shown anything except for the fact that a lot of their best players left. They get run at Florida. Florida then has to jump into the top 25,

but they're still behind Tennessee. Like, what are we doing? Did we not see Utah with no starters out there? Absolutely drill the Florida Gators? How are they 25th in the country? But this is how it works. This is how it works. Okay.

So the narrative will continue to build for all of these teams. And we can sit there and debate who's the best, well, second best SEC team. I don't know. I don't know. And quite honestly, the frustration for everybody else comes in when you start looking at other ranked matchups. And you start to wonder to yourself, are the other teams and other conferences going to get the same benefit of the doubt that all of these teams have gotten? There's only four teams in the top 25 that have a loss. All four of those teams happen to be out of the SEC because we give them the benefit of the doubt.

And guess what? Listen, I get it. Okay? I get it. Look at what they've done over the last, you know, 20 years. They've won the last four national titles. Georgia's won two, Alabama, LSU. 13 of the last 17 going back to the, you know, 2006 Florida team.

They had three teams finish in the top six last year. They've been the best conference for a long time. This year it doesn't seem that way. And yet the narrative perpetuates. I'm just asking here, I'll just pose a question. will that narrative exist for the PAC 12 teams this week? Look at the matchups. Look at the matchups.

First of all, there's eight teams in the PAC 12 ranked. Six of them play each other this week. This is a massive weekend in the PAC 12. Colorado plays at Oregon. That's number 19 against number 10. Number 22, UCLA, who's not getting much run, but should. with their freshman quarterback and quality defense. They're number 22.

They play at 11 Utah. And Oregon State plays Washington State in the two most overlooked programs in America, judging by the fact that they don't have a conference next year. Those matchups are tremendous matchups. Here's what generally happens, though, in matchups like this, is that the winner kind of stays the same and the loser just gets knocked out of the top 25. That's how we've treated the pack. 12 for a long time. And candidly, most other conferences outside of the SEC, you see in the SEC,

Florida beats Tennessee, and it's like, well, they're both ranked, clearly. I mean, what a great win, you know? And it's like, we give them the benefit of the doubt time after time after time. And they have earned that, although every season should be its own season. And in this season, the quality teams in the Pack 12 are there. The depth is. there. The quality quarterback play is there. So my question is, is like, will they get the same treatment? Will the winner get a big bump and the loser of these games still stay in the top 25? Because that's what would happen if we were talking about the SEC. I don't know. Let's see. I think a lot determines or will be determined based on who wins and in what fashion. I mean,

Colorado is ranked, Oregon's ranked and yet Colorado's like a 20-point dog. UCLA at 22, I can't see them staying in the top 25 if they were to lose to Utah, although in a close game, they probably should because Utah is damn good. They might get their quarterback this week. And UCLA has been housing people. Granted, haven't played a great level of competition, but watch out for UCLA. And then these two teams, quietly, one of the two of the most underrated teams in America, Oregon State and Washington State. If you haven't watched Washington State play football, you should because they're pretty good. They got a quality quarterback and Cam Ward, and they are a tough-minded team.

I really like watching them. So will they get the benefit of the doubt after this week? We shall see. By the way, if you're just wondering, like I called a couple of teams underrated, I'll just throw out a few more underrated teams, Missouri, you're underrated, you should be ranked. There's no reason Florida should be ranked and Missouri not ranked. That's a total miss. Although the top 25 is such a sham.

Like, have you seen, have you ever seen those graphics on social media and you actually see who's voting and how they voted. And you look at some of them and you're like, come on. Like, what are we doing? I believe that having a vote should be like Premier League soccer. Like, you should be able to be relegated if you're terrible. And I'll be the judge of it. How about it just be, I can be like a one-man judge.

Like, I'll just look at your ballot and be like, nope, out. Oh, that would, listen, that would amuse me. I don't know if it would amuse you. Missouri's in there as an underrated team. who else would I throw out there? UCLA is a team that I would throw out there. If you haven't watched them play, I tell you, Dante Moore, they're a quarterback,

quality, quality. They're on pace to lead the Pac-12 again in rushing. They're rushing for like 1,000 yards a game. This is like Chip Kelly, circa 2007, Oregon. And I'm here for it. I really am. I think it could be really good. Mazu I threw out there.

I think they're underrated. It's going to be a good week of college football. Hey, listen, I appreciate you. to the show watching this show. If you wanna follow us on social media, you can follow us at Joel Clatshow wherever you participate in social media. And remember to subscribe, like the show,

wherever you get your podcast, or on the YouTube channel. And we will be back tomorrow. We'll be breaking down a lot of these ranked matchups. We've got picks coming up tomorrow on the Joel Clats show.