The Joel Klatt Show: A College Football Podcast - Will Penn State take down Michigan? Anyone stopping Georgia? Are Oregon & Washington on upset alert?

Episode Date: November 9, 2023

FOX Sports’ lead college football analyst Joel Klatt breaks down the biggest games of Week 11 starting with the Top 10 game he will be calling on Big Noon Saturday on FOX: #3 Michigan at #10 Penn St...ate. He discusses what kind of atmosphere he expects in Beaver Stadium. He also breaks down how Michigan’s offense has evolved beyond what they were a year ago and why that makes them so dangerous going forward. Klatt also gives his pick in the other Top 10 matchup on Saturday between Georgia and Ole Miss. He makes picks in the two huge Pac-12 games: USC at #6 Oregon and #18 Utah at #5 Washington. He wraps up with 2 other SEC games as Nick Saban and Alabama look to keep rolling on the road against Kentucky and Tennessee and Missouri square off in a Top 15 matchup. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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Starting point is 00:00:00 Today on the Joel Clad show, we've got several ranked matchups and a lot of great tests for some of the top teams in the country. I break them all down right now. College football has never been better. Interest has never been higher. Believe that we are at the dawn of the golden age of college football. It was an epic day of college football. It was one of those days where you fall in love with the sport all over again. What's up, everybody?
Starting point is 00:00:30 Joel Clad here. This is the Joel Clad show. And as always, this show is presented by Hampton by Hilton. welcome in. Busy week so far in college football. As we are taping this show, no news on Michigan and the whole saga surrounding Michigan.
Starting point is 00:00:52 So as of right now, everybody's coaching this week. Nobody is suspended. There's been no action as of right now. Now, if you want to follow the show, please do so. Remember, wherever you're getting your podcast, go ahead and subscribe to the podcast. If you watch on YouTube, go ahead and subscribe to the Joel Clat show YouTube channel.
Starting point is 00:01:11 We've got exclusives there. We're going to give you a film every now and again. Great film breakdown. So make sure to get over there. Even if you listen and you want to go over there and get that content on YouTube, go please do that. And then on social media, wherever you like to social media, just go follow us at Joel Clat Show.
Starting point is 00:01:26 And we've got all of our content out there for you all week long. So some great games that we've got this week. I'm going to be at Penn State. So let's start there. Let's get into it. Let's start. We've got Michigan at Penn State in what is going to be an absolutely unbelievable game and environment, by the way. Can you imagine just the energy from that crowd?
Starting point is 00:01:53 I mean, like it or not, Michigan is public enemy number one now in college football. If they weren't already in the Big Ten, they certainly are now. And so not only is it the 110 faithful, 110,000 faithful in Beaver Stadium, but it's also going to be this sentiment from, and you feel it throughout college football. Like somebody wants somebody to beat Michigan. Everybody. Everybody wants someone to beat Michigan. And so here they go.
Starting point is 00:02:25 First test of the year for Michigan. They have played one of the softest schedules so far in the country. We know that. We know that. and yet they've been dominant. They've been consistent. They've been one of those teams that you look at and you just know,
Starting point is 00:02:37 based on watching their games, like, yeah, they're really good. As I talk with coaches around the league, both of the coaches that have played them and the ones that have just, you know, watched them on tape, they all, to a man, say like, oh, yeah, regardless of what's going on,
Starting point is 00:02:53 that's one of the best teams I've ever played. So that's what Penn State's going to have to face this week is a really complete team. And I want to start with the one area of the Michigan team that I feel like doesn't get the love or the attention that it should. Because so often with Michigan, we talk about the style and this Harbaugh style. And that style was really imprinted in all of our minds
Starting point is 00:03:19 as college football fans all the way back to when he was the coach at Stanford. Run, double-tied ends, ground and pound. Right? Like that's his style. great defense, great offensive line. And yet, this version is a little bit different. And I don't think people have really looked closely at what this team has become. Because from this point last year, they have evolved.
Starting point is 00:03:46 I called this matchup a year ago in the big house. And Michigan annihilated Penn State, in particular on the ground. They ran it for over 400 yards against them. And this year's team is different. have evolved. And that's borne out in the numbers. Last year, if you look at what they were on offense, let's just take a look at the offensive side for the Wolverines. If you look at their yards per pass attempt and their yards per carry a year ago. So basically, where are you having success? On a snap-in, snap-out basis, where are you having success and how much of it are you having?
Starting point is 00:04:26 yards per pass attempt or yards per carry. In 2022, yards per pass attempt, they were 25th in college football. Not bad. Certainly not bad. They were third, excuse me, in rushing yards per carry. They were a dominant, run-oriented team. And again, they ran it for over 400 yards
Starting point is 00:04:48 against this Penn State team. Just beat them up. Penn State had a turnover. They took the lead near halftime, but the second half, Like, Michigan annihilated them at the line of scrimmage. This year's team is different. Let's take a look at the same two numbers.
Starting point is 00:05:08 Yards per pass attempt, yards per carry. In 2023, yards per pass attempt, sixth. Top 10 in college football. Yards per carry, 47th. Totally different. It's a totally different team. and it's become so obvious to me as I'm sitting here and I'm watching tape all week. And I've covered Michigan so far this year.
Starting point is 00:05:32 And it wasn't as obvious because early in the year, they were kind of doing what Michigan does. And they were running the ball. But as the season has gone along, they have lean into, they have turned into their strength. Their strength is their quarterback. J.J. McCarthy is playing some of the best football in the country. Nobody likes to give him credit for it. And by the way, I've seen some of the articles out there about people out there that are Heisman voters like, the Michigan saga is taking away from J.J. McCarthy. How? How is like, stop it. Stop it.
Starting point is 00:06:08 JJ's playing unbelievable football. He is the catalyst to their offense now. When I watch their team now, it's no longer like, On schedule, on schedule, on schedule, convert with a run. On schedule, on schedule, convert with a run. It is okay success running the ball. They're not bad running the ball. Okay success running the ball. Oh crap, it's third and eight.
Starting point is 00:06:37 JJ, move the chains for us. And he does. He's been excellent on third down. He's making so much, he's making so many better decisions. You know, early last year, he wanted to go out there and make it happen. And when a quarterback forces his fingerprint on the game, generally bad things happen. That has to come to him. You utilize the system.
Starting point is 00:07:03 You operate the system. And then when needed and when you're called upon to go above the X's and O's, then you do that. But you don't try to go above the X's and O's at every snap. And last year, he did that at times. And because of that, he forced the football. he would throw the opponent a couple of opportunities every game. This year he doesn't do that. JJ is so much more under control,
Starting point is 00:07:27 and a lot of it is in the way that he's being coached. He's being coached much better this year, much better. You can tell by the way that he gets to number one, and if number one is open, he gets the ball. Boom. So for instance, like there's a little, there's something called a smash concept. So bear with me for a moment as I explain it.
Starting point is 00:07:47 smash is generally the same concept on both sides. So whether it's the wide side or the short side of the field, it doesn't matter. Smash is a flat control, which means it can be a little out. It can be a hitch. Generally, it's a hitch. So it's a flat control route, hitch. And then from the inside receivers, they run corners. So the number two release runs corners.
Starting point is 00:08:13 And what you're trying to do is that you're trying to negate the play of the safeties by just putting the onus on the corner back. The guy who's out there on the edge, he either has to stay down on the hitch or drop back into the lap of the corner route. Okay. Okay. Now, the hitch is always number one and the corner is always number two. So your eyes always have to start with number one as a quarterback. I know that these are little things, but these are monumental things when it comes to operating the system. When I'm talking about playing efficiently, this is what I'm talking about.
Starting point is 00:08:51 JJ last year would come out and he would just be like, okay, I've got smash. And he would just kind of be like, huh, who's open? And he would look at the corner, then the hitch, then back to the corner, and then maybe even back to the hitch. Now it's a process and it's in rhythm and it's on time. He comes out, number one is the hitch. If he's open, bang. Balls to the hitch right away. If he's not, that means the corner is down,
Starting point is 00:09:15 and it's just one half beat later, bang, ball is to the corner route. There's no way to defend that. There's no ambiguity. There's no gray area. That's an example of how much better he's playing, okay? And that shows itself all over the place, whether it's his decisions to run, whether it's his ability to manipulate the pocket,
Starting point is 00:09:35 whether it's his ability to take shots down the field and not just force the ball down the field, only when it's there. Get to number two in a big play action. Jay J.J's playing outstanding. He is the catalyst of the offense. It's an offense that has totally evolved from what they were a year ago. Nobody talks about it. I will because this is a passing oriented offense. And they would hate me saying that. But that's the strength of their team. They've got really good tight ends that are, what I would say, more flex tight ends. Right. So you're looking at a guy like Colston Loveland. he's better as a wide receiver than he is technically as a blocker.
Starting point is 00:10:11 Not a bad blocker, but he's better as a wide receiver. So what do they do? Flex him out. Roman Wilson, really good. But he's small in stature. So what do they do? Put him at number two. Again, there's so many nuances in the game.
Starting point is 00:10:23 I can't wait to show you on film. I got some film later in the week that get over to YouTube and get that done. Okay, so that was a long dissertation on JJ. JJ's really good. Now he's going to face this Manny Diaz defense. Likes to be aggressive. Mani wants to attack. It'll be interesting to see how much he attacks because of the brilliance of J.J. McCarthy,
Starting point is 00:10:42 his ability to get loose, his ability to manipulate, get outside, and then find big plays down the field. On the other side of the ball, Drew Aller has just played probably his best game as a Nittany Lion. His performance against Maryland was really good. And in particular, when you're looking at the heels on the heels, excuse me, of really a poor performance against Ohio State. they have made a concerted effort to try to push the ball down the field, which they did not do against the Buckeyes. That offense was trying to go side to side. They couldn't run it.
Starting point is 00:11:13 They couldn't throw it. It was totally anemic against the Buckeyes. But last week against Maryland, it was a lot different. Early in the game, they tried to throw fades. They tried to get the defense out of the run box that helped them run the football better, and it established a better rhythm for Drew Aller. Drew did some really impressive things throwing the ball down the field. I think he's best when he can drive the football.
Starting point is 00:11:36 He's a big strong-armed quarterback. When he can drive the ball and not have to throw with touch, he can drive it into those intermediate seams in particular right down the hashes. That's when he's at his best. That's when he's at his best. This is going to be a great game. Last year, Ketron Allen and Nick Singleton couldn't do anything against Michigan.
Starting point is 00:11:54 This year, they're going to have to be able to run the ball. Last year, 12 carries for 35 yards combined. That has to turn around. They're going to have to run for somewhere in the 150 to, to 200 yards, total as a team. If it's one of those guys, I don't know, maybe, and then get creative, right? One of the reasons why James Franklin has struggled in these top matchups is that I don't think he leans into his best playmakers.
Starting point is 00:12:17 Remember, I had a whole dissertation about Marvin Harrison being an out pitch, how Marvin Harrison was an out pitch against Penn State and Penn State didn't have anybody that they leaned into on the offensive side. Lean into your best players. I want to see if those tight ends can be your best players. I want to see if those running backs can be your best players. It's going to be a great game, but I can't, I cannot, I almost said boys. That's, that's what I always say. It's going to be a great game, boys. So I tell my sons, Michigan's favored by four and a half at Penn State, and it's going to be on fire.
Starting point is 00:12:48 All right, let's go a little bit quicker here. Ole Miss Georgia. How about this one? So Georgia's now clearly in the teeth of their schedule after not playing a very tough schedule, really for the entirety of the year, just like Michigan. and this is going to be prime time in Athens under the lights. Sorry, Ole Miss. There's a reason you're a 10.5 point dog. Ole Miss is a team that has been getting wins, but when you look back on the way that they've won, they've won a bunch of games in one score fashion,
Starting point is 00:13:18 five straight since the Alabama loss. They've won. And you could say like, oh, five straight wins. Hey, this is going to be really tough for Georgia. Hold on, hold on. Ole Miss, four of those five have been by one score, including last week, A&M, 3. A&M had a field goal blocked that could have forced overtime. So it's like, are they really
Starting point is 00:13:37 a threat to Georgia? Probably not. This is why I did not put them above the line. Were they a threat to Alabama? No. No, they weren't. Has Lane done really good? Sorry, that was grammatically incorrect. Has Lane done really well at Ole Miss? Yes. Lane's done an outstanding job at miss, but that doesn't mean that they are now in this category where they can go and beat a Georgia team that is now 40 what, two out of their last 43 they've won? I mean, come on. This is a Georgia team that has been ranked number one in the AP poll for 21 straight weeks. By the way, there's only one team that has ever had more weeks at number one. And that was the unbelievable Linert Bush USC teams from 03 to 05.
Starting point is 00:14:26 They were number one for 33 straight weeks. That's the only team. So Georgia's on a historic run. They're at home. It's senior night. Their seniors are 46 and 3 in their career. This team has won 42 of their last 43, and we expect Ole Miss to go beat them.
Starting point is 00:14:44 Like, hey, I like Jackson Dart, and I like Lane Kiffin and Quinn Sean Judkins has been running the ball a lot better than he was to begin the year. In fact, you look, four of his last five has been 100-yard games. But this is Georgia. All right, this is a team that even without Carson Beck, when they want to, they can, like Newk La Lush, announce their presence with authority. And I think that they will in this game.
Starting point is 00:15:10 Now, 10 and a half is a lot, but there's a reason why it's 10 and a half. There's a reason why it's 10 and a half. Even the pass rush for Ole Miss, I don't think it's going to be a big game changer. Now, if they win, more credit to. them. But this is Georgia, folks. This is the preeminent program in college football as of right now. 21 straight weeks at number one, and there's a reason. I'm a real big fan of what Carson Beck has been doing, by the way. I think that he's a heck of a player. Similar to J.J. McCarthy at Michigan, no one wants to acknowledge that Georgia has evolved throwing the ball. You look at their numbers,
Starting point is 00:15:49 Carson Beck has been outstanding throwing the football. And they have modernized and to some extent. Very similar to what Michigan is doing under J.J. McCarthy. You get a talented player and you let those talented players do what they can do. This is my whole point with Penn State in the last deal. So Carson Beck, Georgia, I like
Starting point is 00:16:07 them. Ten and a half? Probably not enough. I think they win by more than 10 and a half. Again, Athens, at night, senior night, come on. Come on, what are we doing? This is Georgia. Ole Miss is a cute story. They're not Georgia. They're not Georgia. Hey, it's my favorite
Starting point is 00:16:23 time of the year. It's November. The games that we remember are played in November. It's football season. And as you know, 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. So wherever I go, I know that I can count on Hampton by Hilton. I can depend on their comfortable rooms, their warm, friendly service. And as you know, what is my favorite? The free hot breakfast, hot cup of coffee, a waffle, game changer. So whether you're cheering on your team, team from the stands or never leaving the tailgate, Hampton by Hilton will always give you that win. Great game in the pack 12. USC at Oregon. Now, USC not ranked. Oregon is number six.
Starting point is 00:17:08 This is one of those games that it could matter a great deal that USC has struggled to the level that they've struggled just for resume perspectives later in the year. As Texas and Alabama, potentially, if they're to win out and all of a sudden we've got an Oregon winning out, and then you just got a big old argument about resumes at that point. This is one of those games that Oregon wished USC would have been, you know, at least 15th in the country, 12th in the country, something along those lines, but as it is, they're unranked. Oregon has been, over the last couple of weeks, probably the most dominant team in the country. Empathic wins at Utah, Arizona State.
Starting point is 00:17:50 Meanwhile, they've lost three of four. Oregon is the number one scoring offense in the country. USC is number two. So we could have fireworks like we did a week ago. But the difference is that Oregon's defense is way better than Washington's defense. So do we really think that all of a sudden USC is going to lift themselves off the mat and go beat Oregon? No. USC's last stand.
Starting point is 00:18:15 The last stand in front of the Alamo for USC was last week. okay there's a reason why Oregon is favored by wait for it 15 Oregon minus 15 in this game that's more than Georgia at home on senior night the reason is is because of the completeness of Oregon versus the lack of completeness from Washington Washington's a really good football team excellent on offense, obviously.
Starting point is 00:18:48 Pennix. Right now, your Heisman frontrunner as it relates to the odds. But they're not Oregon on defense. Caleb Williams is going to be under duress. This is the best defense that Caleb Williams will have faced up to this point. Better than Notre Dame. Sorry, Notre Dame. They can rush the passer. They can stop the run.
Starting point is 00:19:11 Marshawn Lloyd did not play last week against Washington. Austin Jones stepped in, did a really nice. nice job. 11 carries 127 yards. I just don't think that they're going to be able to run against Oregon. Ask Utah how difficult it is to run against Oregon. By the way, Utah was trying to do that at home, a place where they win all the time. Now USC's going to go to Otson and all of a sudden play like some complete game. I'm sorry, but a change in defensive coordinator is not going to all the sudden change the Trojans. Okay. This is a team that likely will have a harder time offensively than they want to admit because Oregon is so good on the defensive side.
Starting point is 00:19:49 Flip side of that is you can't overhaul a defense schematically in one week. So the scheme is the scheme, unfortunately for USC and USC fans. There's only so much you can do. Now, can they become more gap sound, hopefully? Because if they're not, this run game for Oregon will run all over them. Oregon, I think, is primed to run for 250 yards or more against USC. Look at what Dylan Johnson did. last week against Washington, right?
Starting point is 00:20:18 Like Lincoln Riley knows it. There's a reason why he made the change at the coordinator position, and now he's going to face a team that can run the football. Washington was a willing participant in the ineptitude of USC's defense stopping the run last week, and Dylan Johnson rattled off, what was it, 240, whatever, 129 before contact, 127 after contact. now you're going to face a team that, like, they can get after it. They can get nasty running the ball.
Starting point is 00:20:48 The offensive line is terrific. Bucky Irvin's terrific. Bo is terrific. And he makes great decisions as well. And they can throw it on the outside. Yikes! This is a yikes moment for USC. This is a defense that over the last few games has been one of the worst in all of college football.
Starting point is 00:21:04 In fact, USC has allowed 44 points per game over their last six. That's the second worst in the entire FBS. They're facing an Oregon team that I think is playing as well as anybody in the country. I get it. They lost to Washington. There's a reason that on Wednesday's edition of the podcast, I had them as a tier one team. This is a team that is a legitimate, not only Pac-12 champion, but a legitimate national champion because they're good everywhere. And they've got a quarterback that makes place.
Starting point is 00:21:34 He plays efficiently, just like I was describing with J.J. McCarthy. And he started, wait for it, 56 games. is going to be his 57th start. What? That's wild. That is wild. That's two careers. That's two amazing college careers. Do you know how hard it is? Do you know how hard it is to just become the starter for a season? It's hard. Do you know that like all of these places recruit all the best players in the country? Just becoming a starter for one year, difficult. Bo Nix is going to start his 57th game. There's nothing he hasn't seen.
Starting point is 00:22:17 So as the new coordinators, Brian Odom and Sean Nua for the defense of USC as they try to simplify that's playing into the hands of an experienced quarterback. Watch out, man. I don't think 15 is enough.
Starting point is 00:22:30 I think Oregon wins this one big. And again, like Nuke Leloush, what are they going to do? Trying to announce my presence with authority. Now it's your presence with authority. What are you talking? Love that movie. This is a really good one.
Starting point is 00:22:42 Utah at Washington. Washington is favored by nine and a half. With a win, Washington would be 10 and O for the second time in school history, by the way. The last time they were 10 and O was when they were the 1991 national champions. Okay, so this is unprecedented, rarefied air for even the huskies, trying to go 10 and O for the second time in school history. It will be difficult because this Utah team, granted they've been up and down, but you know you're always going to get a fight. And the one thing I do know about Utah is that you better be a a complete team in order to beat them. You better be willing to beat them at the line of scrimmage. That's what happened against Oregon State in the loss on that Friday night game in Corvallis. And that's clearly what happened against Oregon. And maybe it's just that you've got to be from Oregon to beat Utah. Who knows?
Starting point is 00:23:28 That remains to be seen. The problem for Washington is that they are not as dominant as either the beavers or the ducks. So guess what? Utah will be in this game. They will be able to run the football. They will be able to do things with their defensive front seven that put pressure on Michael Pinnix.
Starting point is 00:23:45 So this is part of the issue with not being as complete as, let's say, in Oregon. Pennix, by the way, has thrown five interceptions over the last four games, at least one and four straight. The Utes just scored 55 against Arizona State in their first game since that lost to Oregon. The defense, by the way, they held Arizona State to three points and 83 total yards. They were embarrassed by the ducks. It showed in the way that they played against Arizona State. Utah then on the offensive side, they ran it for over 350 yards against Arizona State.
Starting point is 00:24:15 Bryson Barnes threw four touchdown passes. I'm just saying, watch out. Washington's defense has allowed 30 points in four of their last six games. You get where I'm going. Nine and a half is too much. That's number one. If not, just outright, maybe Utah can clip them in this game. I'm not going to go that far.
Starting point is 00:24:36 I think Washington wins. I think it's a really tight game, really tight game. really tight game. Remember, Arizona State went up there and shut down that offense. It can be done. This is not an offense that just goes off every single week. It can be done. If someone's going to do it, it's probably Utah, the way that they pressure, the way that they're aggressive. So nine and a half is too much for Washington in this game. Jalen McMillan has just not been able to shake that lower leg injury. So it's to Adunze and Polk, which, hey, that was fantastic against USC. But this Utah we're talking about.
Starting point is 00:25:12 So we'll see how it all shakes out. Like I said, Washington gets to 10 and no. I'm picking Washington in the game. They're not winning by 9.5. Let's move on. Alabama at Kentucky. Bamma's favored by 10.5 Kentucky, remember that for a moment in this season, we thought to ourselves like, oh, hey, look at Kentucky.
Starting point is 00:25:34 And then we tried to build up, like, can they go into Georgia and win? And Georgia was like, no. No, they can't. And now here's Bama. They can clinch the SEC West with a win over Kentucky. By the way, or an Ole Miss lost to Georgia. So we are quickly getting to that point in the season where we know that it's going to be Alabama and Georgia in the SEC title game.
Starting point is 00:25:56 The only question is, is it going to be an undefeated Georgia in a one-lossed Bama or is one of these teams going to stub their toe leading up to that game in Atlanta? Bama has not been on the road in like a month. They've played three straight at home, so we'll see how they do that, but they are coming off of their most complete game. Not me saying it, that's what Nick Saban said. He said their win over LSU was their most complete game
Starting point is 00:26:22 that they've played all season long. Now, can you expect them to play at that level right away the next week? I don't know. Remember, this is still college football. This is still ebbs and flows. You've got a floor, you've got a ceiling, and it's totally unrealistic to think that you can play at your ceiling every single week. So will they probably play a little bit different than they did against LSU? Yes, that's an emotional game against a division rival that they know was going to be tough.
Starting point is 00:26:54 They were amped for it, they were ready for it. Milro played outstanding, both with his legs and through the air. The defense was tough. They were physical. should we expect them to play a little bit more sluggish? Yes. Is Kentucky good enough to take advantage of that? Probably not.
Starting point is 00:27:14 Probably not. I look at the line play for Alabama and the win over LSU, and I just think to myself, this team's continued to develop. They have continued to get better at that point. Kentucky's run game, by the way, has totally hit the skids. After they ran for 300 yards against Florida, they've lost three straight, Georgia, Missouri, and Tennessee.
Starting point is 00:27:35 They bounced back with a win over Mississippi State last week, but this is not a team ready to go up into that echelon of, like, Bama, Georgia. They can't even get into the echelon of Missouri and Tennessee. So, you know, like 10 and a half probably not enough. Alabama has wins over Ole Miss, Tennessee, and LSU this season. The only blemish was that loss to Texas in a game in which Texas played great. We know how good Texas is at the line of scrimmings. They had Quinn Ewers.
Starting point is 00:28:05 Alabama is a really good team. This is why they're an above-the-line team for me. Bama, number eight in the country, favored by 10 and a half at Kentucky. They go on the road. They get a win and they cover. Tennessee at Missouri. Tennessee at Missouri.
Starting point is 00:28:20 I think this is going to be a really good game. Both of Tennessee's losses this year have come on the road. So they did not play well at Florida. They did not play well at Alabama. now they got to go back on the road. Now, I've played in Columbia, Missouri. It's not the swamp and it's not Tuscaloosa. Sorry, Mazoo fans.
Starting point is 00:28:38 Mizzu fans were all over me last week, by the way. Remember I gave you the sleepers? The teams are like, hey, you know, they've got a shot if they can win out and they were LSU and Penn State. Now, LSU wasn't able to do that. LSU had a track to win the SEC championship, and everyone was like, what about Mizzou? They could beat Georgia.
Starting point is 00:28:58 No, you can't. No, you couldn't. sorry, not in Athens. And even though they gave it Yeoman's effort, and they couldn't do that. However, they are so much better than I think people realize. They're better than Tennessee realizes. Tennessee is favored by a point and a half on the road.
Starting point is 00:29:20 They're coming off of that blowout win over Yukon. Gotta love those SEC November's. Yukon rolls into town. I'd say I hope Neeland was on fire. because you don't just beat the huskies, fighting Jim Morris. No, no. Those November's, they're tough.
Starting point is 00:29:39 I talked with Greg Sanky the other day and the SEC commissioner. Really love Greg. And he was talking about, like, the hard stretch that Georgia is going to have to play coming down the stretch. And I was like, mm-hmm, mm-hmm. And then I was kind of like,
Starting point is 00:29:55 what about those cupcakes in November? and he's like, bah, that was he, Tennessee is averaging 260 rush yards in their seven wins, only 117 in their two losses. It comes down to their ability
Starting point is 00:30:10 to run the football. Okay, I just don't believe that they can completely lean on the passing game and win. So can they run the football? Now, Mizzou is a pretty good team, and I'm looking at this. Brady Cook has played well for Mizzou this season.
Starting point is 00:30:25 He's thrown for, what, 275 yards per game? It's got 20 total touchdowns. I don't want to say it because our producer, Catherine, I normally call her cat, but it's Catherine. She's a vol. And I sense her seething at me when I'm talking about Tennessee and I'll say things like, I don't know if they're going to win. Like right there, she literally probably just threw her pen down and was like, turn off
Starting point is 00:30:58 his microphone. I just don't think that they're going to win. I like Mazu in this game. I think Mazu can bounce back after the loss to Georgia. I really like Luther Burden. I know he's questionable, but if he can be on the field, they win. That's the big caveat for me. If Burden's on the field, Missouri wins.
Starting point is 00:31:15 If he's not on the field, Tennessee probably wins. He's questionable. He hurt his ankle in the second quarter against Georgia. He was out there. He wasn't himself. If he can be on the field, I like their chances. I'm sorry, Kat. I'm really sorry.
Starting point is 00:31:29 And I saved it for the last one. Why? Because I knew you'd be so mad that we're just going to need to end the show. Go follow the podcast. Subscribe to the podcast wherever you listen. Subscribe to the YouTube channel. I'll have some exclusive content out there, some film study for you at the Joel Clash Show on YouTube. Make sure to subscribe there. And then follow us on social media wherever you like to social media at Joel Clatshow. Last thing would be make sure to continue to send us mailbag questions. The Joel Clats Show Mailbag at gmail.com. Any question you like.
Starting point is 00:31:56 It can be about life. It can be about parenting. It can be, maybe you're a college student. You want some, you know, a clatch hat. Come on in. You can have playoff questions, whatever you want. I'll be there to answer your questions here down the stretch. Thank you for listening and enjoy the weekend. It's going to be a great weekend of college football.
Starting point is 00:32:14 And I'll be at Penn State. It's going to be a great one there in Beaver Stadium. So I'll be there with Gus and Jenny at noon on Fox. See you there.

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