The Joel Klatt Show: A College Football Podcast - USC's defense crumbles, Penn State's future & other New Year's Six bowl reactions

Episode Date: January 4, 2023

FOX Sports’ lead college football analyst Joel Klatt shares his reaction to the non CFP New Year's Six Bowl games. Joel talks about Tennessee's impressive win over Clemson in the Orange Bowl, and if Clemson is falling out of the elite teams in college football. Then, he praises Alabama for their dominant win over Kansas State in the Sugar Bowl. Next, he talks about USC's defense crumbling against Tulane in the Cotton Bowl, and stresses the importance for Lincoln Riley to improve the Trojans' defense. Lastly, Joel shows some love to Penn State for their Rose Bowl win, and wonders if the Nittany Lions can breakthrough Michigan and Ohio State in the Big Ten East next season. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Welcome into the show, everybody. This is the Joel Clatt show. I am Joel Clatt. And thank you for joining us here. It's been a big weekend of college football, obviously. You heard me react to the college football playoff and those two games. And listen, some of those other New Year 6 games were so good that I decided I want to give a full episode to those four football games before I give you a national championship preview. So here's what's going to go on. Today, Wednesday, you're going to get my reaction to the New Year 6, some thoughts on all of those teams that we saw on the orange sugar cotton and rose. And then on Thursday morning, you'll get my full championship game preview as we look forward to Georgia and TCU in SoFi next Monday night. Okay, so let's get right into it because, listen, it was, I thought, eye-opening at times. And I think that we learned a lot and we'll try to learn what we can expect moving forward from each one of these games and teams. Let's start with the Orange Bowl as Tennessee was able to beat Clemson. The game was won because Clemson did not perform well in the red zone and had to settle for field goals.

And then they missed those field goals. And it wasn't necessarily just red zone, but it was just kind of scoring territory. They had to settle for too many field goals. And I, for one, thought that they were going to improve offensively with Cade Clems. Lubnik at quarterback, and I thought that that was a move that would propel them into a mode where they were preparing for next season. And because it was kind of more of an end of an era for Tennessee with Henden Hooker not playing and obviously their wide receivers not playing, I thought that this was leaning

towards, hey, Clemson is going to win this game. And I was totally mistaken by that. That was a really good performance from Tennessee. And kudos to them. Josh Heiple has done an outstanding job at Tennessee. and I don't think that they're going anywhere. All right, I don't think that this was a flash in the pan for them, just because they get Hendon Hooker and some of these good wide receivers.

I think that this can continue. And this is a blueprint that can continue. And so I don't think Tennessee is going to go anywhere. And this is at least a team in a program that makes that side of the SEC formidable. It's not just Georgia. I know that Georgia beat this team, but like, you know, this is going to be difficult for Georgia year and in a year. out now because they've got some teams that are legitimate and Tennessee is obviously one of those

and I thought that that performance against Clemson was indicative of what we can possibly expect moving forward again really like that program what Josh Hypo has been able to do there on the Clemson side it was a bit disappointing to be honest because remember I thought that this was going to be a springboard I thought that this was going to mark the first game of next season for them and with the momentum that they were going to have after you know basically you know you bench DJ Owing on Galele and Cade Clubnick goes out there, a guy that I really believe in, by the way, I thought that this was going to be the start of what could be considered a championship run next season.

And, you know, it might turn out to be that, but they certainly didn't play well enough in crucial moments. And obviously missing field goals is going to get you beat. And you play a good team. You play in a big environment like that in the Rose Bowl. And you miss field goals, you're going to get beat. So Dabo's got a little work cut out for him, although I do think that he is in a decent position. That's a good roster, right?

I don't know if they're quite as talented as it relates to how they compare to other teams around the country as what they were three or four years ago. Having said that, I do think that we're starting to see, because of the transfer portal and because of NIL, I do think that we're starting to see talent move around. spread out a little bit, a little bit, not a ton, but a little bit. And because of that, you know, maybe it doesn't affect Clemson quite as much that they aren't, at least from a talent perspective, what they were four and five years ago. Having said that, I do think, like, with Clubnik back, and I'll get to this in a little bit, like, they can say he's basically an incumbent, and he's getting some time now and some important time in a big stage to set them up

for the next year. All right. Let's make a moment. move on to the Sugar Bowl and a program in Alabama that went out there and didn't look great early, but then turned it on. And that was a dominant performance. Alabama is one of the best teams in the country. Nobody disputes that. I still stand by exactly what I said last week. I do think that this is a very disappointing season for Alabama and Alabama fans. I don't think that there's any way around that based on the expectations that they had coming into the season. Now, you can say that, hey, the expectations were wrong. Well, that's fine, but they were universal. Obviously, the expectations are high within the program. We know that.

All right. Nick Saban expects to win every game and expects to win every championship. That's the process. That's what he wants to do, is win every single day. It was not just internally, though. It wasn't just their fan base. It wasn't just, you know, SEC media that thought Alabama was going to be good. We all thought Alabama was going to be good. In fact, even Vegas put them as the biggest favorite to win the national championship from preseason perspective since the Reggie Bush, Matt Liner, USC team. So they fell woefully short of expectations, albeit in two outstanding games. I mean, and I've talked about this at length, by the way. You look at what it took to beat Alabama, and it was significant from both LSU and from Tennessee.

And those environments were electric. The play was phenomenal. And it took plays at the end, a knuckle puck kick to beat them at Tennessee, a two-point conversion in LSU. And so this Alabama team was clearly very good. And this was a K-State team that was totally overmatched. K-State is an over-achieving program, right? They over-achieved by winning the Big 12 championship.

They over-achieved most of the year. I love Deuce Vaughn, by the way. I think Deuce is going to be a really good pro. But when you look at that team, they just did not have what you need to have in order to go beat Alabama or even stay with Alabama. In particular when Bama is motivated and they've got their full complement of players, which they did. I'm a big believer that these players need to do what they feel is necessary for them, their team, their future. And so I'm fully in support of all of those stars, including Bryce Young, going out there and making the choice to go play.

And it was fun to get to watch them one last time. It really was. I wish we could see all these kids play in their bowl game. But listen, I'm not going to begrudge them the opportunity to make the decision of what they think is best for their future. Now, having said that about Alabama, this dominant win, can it propel them? Yes, it can. Is it going to be a changing of the guard at Alabama?

Yes, it absolutely is. Now, what they can rest on is that they have done this time and time again. Remember, since Nick Sabin won his first title at Alabama, they have not gone three years without a title. All right. So next year is that year. All right, the biggest drought that they've had has been two seasons. They don't win it for two years, and then they win it in that third year.

And that's what they're coming up on. So now what have we seen? Well, Georgia won it last year by beating Alabama. Alabama did not get back to the playoff this year. Okay, so that's two years in a row. And it might be two straight Georgia national championships. But the precedent has been set that over cycles of recruits, Nick Saban has proven that he's one of the only guys really throughout history

that can win national championships over the cycle of multiple recruiting. classes. He's done it with every single recruiting class that he has recruited to Alabama. It's actually staggering to see the success and the longevity that he's had. And we're coming up on that, right? So next year is going to be the third year in the cycle. We'll see if Alabama can come and win a championship and they're going to have to do that with a brand new quarterback, a brand new leader on defense, and some new stars. Do I think they're going to be good? Yeah, they're going to be damn good. There's no doubt in my mind. Again, because Sabin has proven. that he's one of the rare, if not only, in particular in modern day,

one of the only guys that can win at the top end national championships over multiple cycles of recruiting classes. And so he's going to be trying to do that here in the next couple of years. All right, let's move on. How about that Cotton Bowl? How about the Cotton Bowl? Tulane, congratulations on a huge win in the Cotton Bowl. I hope that that propels you towards success coming up in,

in the next few years. Remember now, when you talk about a group of five teams, it takes multiple years to get on the radar and then make a playoff push. Okay, so we've got another playoff that's a four-team invitational next year. And then we're going to start moving into this expanded role in 2024. And maybe Tulane is building something very special like we saw at Boise State, like we saw at UCF, like we saw with Cincinnati, where they can play at the top end of college football. this is one of those landmark wins that you hope if you're a Tulane fan

propels them into multiple years of success and maybe success at more the top end of college football. So always pay attention to that when you're watching group of five teams have success beat Power 5 teams in particular in these big matchups late in the season in these marquee New Year 6 bowls. What does that mean for the future? Is Tulane going to be on the radar next year? Maybe, maybe.

And it does take those multiple years. of cycles, right? It took that with Cincinnati. It took that with UCF, although they never quite cracked that playoff push. But now you're on the radar, Tulane, so it's on you to capitalize on what you can do in the coming years. And I'm excited to watch that happen. On the other side of the ball, what a horrendous collapse from USC? No other way to put it. No other way to put it. I mean, what are they? Up 15 with just over four minutes left? And you've got to win that game. You know, you've got to actively make place to lose the game and it felt like they did. Wasted a marvelous performance, again, from Caleb Williams. I mean, this is the scary part

for USC. And I really believe in what Lincoln Riley is doing there. You know that, right? I think Lincoln Riley is a heck of a coach. The scary part for USC is that you've got this guy that now we're all starting to realize, in particular after one in the Heisman Trophy, after seeing him play in the back half of the season. What we're realizing is this guy is a generational talent. We might be watching Mahomes 2.0, even better than Mahomes was in college when he was at Texas Tech. This guy's ability is staggering. Staggering. You don't or can't waste it. You can't waste it. You got one season left with this guy. You cannot waste Caleb Williams. And so USC's got to figure out this defense. another game in which the USC defense gives up, what was it, over 10 yards of play,

allergic to tackling again like we saw in the Pac-12 championship game, that has to change, period. So Lincoln Riley is now charged with the fact that, listen, we know your offense is going to be fine. And tell me if you've heard this song and dance before, but this one feels a little bit different. This one feels different because this talent at quarterback feels a little bit different. You cannot waste next year. So they have immediately got to go to the drawing board and they've got to evaluate what they're doing on the defensive side, period.

And when you do that, when you're a head coach and you start looking at areas of your team that need to be addressed, it usually happens in a three-pronged evaluation. You've got to evaluate, is it the players, is it the coaches, or is it the scheme? And it's got to be one of the three. and if none of the three change, then you're inviting the same result. Okay? So I think that Lincoln Riley, knowing what he knows about the transfer portal, knowing what he knows about how quickly you can change your fortunes in the transfer portal,

that has to be the clear path towards addressing what the defense is or what it wasn't during the course of this season. They've got to tackle better. they've got to at least play a style of defense that would allow them to win games that become shootouts, right? Even in these playoff games that became shootouts, it was stops that end up kind of winning the game. What did TCU do? They got a stop on fourth down inside the five-yard line. They got a turnover inside the five-yard line.

What did Georgia do on those last few possessions for Ohio State? they got stops. They held them to field goals on three of their last four possessions. They got to stop and forced them to punt, even though they tried to fake punt and call the time out. This is what you have to, like, you cannot win games if you're just going to let the other team score. I know that sounds so elementary, but it's true.

And you can't waste this opportunity when you've got a generational talent at quarterback. So again, the evaluation for Lincoln Riley, and I'm sure he'll do this because he's a very good coach, has got to be three pronged. Is it the players? Is it the coaches or is it the scheme? Okay, and one of those three has to change. And I fully expect them to dive in and really try to address the personnel on that defensive side. Last up for the New Year 6 was what was for a long portion of the game, a really great game in the Rose Bowl with Penn State and Utah going back

and forth. And it wasn't like that big just like light them up shootout that we've seen in other bowl games. It was a great, hard-nosed, back-and-forth, low-scoring affair for the most part. And I do have to say, this is my favorite game. The setting of the Rose Bowl is absolutely magical, even when it is cloudy and raining and like 50 degrees. It wasn't that bad. I was there. I am totally partial because this is one of the environments. It's really the only place all year. and now I did it twice this year, but that I get to take my boys and actually watch a football game as a fan.

And so this is why the Rose Bowl is always going to hold a near and dear spot in my heart is it is a spot where I get to take my three sons and go watch a football game, which is incredible. I've got to do it two straight years. I'll always remember these memories. The boys were fired up.

We had an unbelievable time at the Rose Bowl, and then we saw a great game. So Penn State's able to beat Utah. And again, for the second straight year, I think Utah fans are going to be left thinking about what might have been. Because for the second straight year, Cam Rising, who is their catalyst to all their success, both offensively and really as a team, goes down.

And it happened kind of in front of us. And he goes down, and I knew right away, I was like, that does not look good. And right away, you could just feel the entire, not only that side of the stadium, but that side of the sideline of the field. The error just totally left Utah. And Penn State took advantage to that.

And this Penn State team, by the way, that was a really good team all year long. Think about the fact that they finish, what was it, 11 and 2 now, and their only two losses are against two teams. Now, granted, both of those teams lost in the playoff, but those were phenomenal playoff games. So there are only two losses or teams playing at the top end of college football.

And they really took care of everybody else. and their defense played really well in every single game outside of those two, save for maybe the very first game of the season when Purdue scored 30 points on them. I mean, that program has got to be very excited about where they're going. Very excited. I know that Sean Clifford is leaving. Okay. And by the way, let me just back up and say,

I was really happy for Sean Clifford. Sean Clifford had one of those magical type seasons. Did it finish the way that everybody hoped it would? no, they wanted to win their division. They wanted to win the Big Ten and maybe go to the college football playoff, but it didn't happen. But this guy gave his heart and soul to that program. I was really happy for him that it ended in the Rose Bowl

in that picturesque setting, right? Every player that signs a letter of intent and plays in a Big Ten setting, in a Big Ten program, dreams of playing and winning in the Rose Bowl, and Sean Clifford was able to do that. And again, I know that that relationship between he and the Nittany Lion fans at times has been rocky, but it feels like it's really come to a head here at the back end of this season where there's a real appreciation for each other and a real love, a genuine love for each other. And I think Nittney Lion fans would agree with me that we're all happy for

Sean Clifford that he was able to go out there and be the starting quarterback for a team that won the Rose Bowl. Having said that, the best part of Penn State is their youth. So that's a scary proposition when you're looking at the rest of the Big Ten and maybe even the Big Ten East next season. That's a really good young team. Both of those two running backs are outstanding. They're able to run the ball very well against Utah, which not many teams have been able to do. Ketron Allen, Nick Singleton, really good players. They've got what I would consider to be a top three or four defensive player in the entire Big Ten coming back next year. And I know he wasn't directly a starter, but Abdul Carter is going to be a sensational player. They've got

replace Joey Porter. They've been able to do that, though, in the secondary and bring in different pieces and continue to play at a high level. So this Penn State team, I think everything's looking up for them. Drew Aller looks to be their quarterback next year, very talented player. They should be able to be a little bit better offensively because I think that there be more two-dimensional and be able to threaten people down the field in the passing game. And that's a team that I think has a lot going for them next year. And by the way, Michigan's going to be very good. You know, Ohio state's going to be good because they're always good and they recruit at that level. And now I think Penn State's going to be even better.

So in a year in which we had two teams from the same division go to the college football playoff and the other team go and win the Rose Bowl, they might be better as a division next year. And that's a scary proposition because I do think Penn State will improve. That's a young team. Last little nugget that I would give you in this kind of this reaction before we get to the championship preview tomorrow is I would just say like looking at next year, I do find it fascinating that the three teams that I would say have recruited the best and have put

themselves on the top echelon in college football, maybe even Michigan as well, if you do this. But I'm talking about Alabama, Ohio State, and Georgia, all three of those teams moving into a new era with a new quarterback. So if you're a team with an incumbent quarterback, like a Michigan, or even, like I said, like a Clemson or some team like that, you've got to feel good about where you're headed, right? TCU going to be changing quarterbacks. This is why, you know, this Michigan team, even in a loss, looks really good moving into next year.

They killed it in the transfer portal. They've got their quarterback back. They've got all those young players back, including Will Johnson the corner, including their quarterback, they're running back, all of those. So I think it's going to be a fascinating offseason, knowing that the three real powers, the owners of college football over the last five years,

Alabama, Ohio State, and Georgia, all will be changing their quarterbacks moving into next season. All right, so that'll do it for this episode. Make sure to come back tomorrow for a special edition of The Joel Clatt Show where I will be previewing that TCU, Georgia National Championship game. Remember to rate and review us, please. Follow us all offseason. I'll be talking about college football and the draft all off season. Be diving into subjects that are overarching and hopefully you'll find interesting

with some of the biggest power players in college football. The commissioners will be joining the show. We'll be talking about all things college football, how to fix things that are broken and how to really lean into things that are not broken. We'll be doing that all offseason. You can follow me at Joel Clatt on Twitter. You can follow the show at Joel Clatt show on all the social medias.

And we really appreciate you being a part of this show. Thank you for coming up to me and telling me how much you enjoy the show when you see me out at those games. And yeah, this has been a really. really fun deal. So thanks to everyone involved with the show tomorrow. National Championship preview, TCU and Georgia.