The Joel Klatt Show: A College Football Podcast - Will Washington and Georgia stay unbeaten? Can Michigan avoid a trap game? And more Week 12 Picks

Episode Date: November 16, 2023

FOX Sports’ lead college football analyst Joel Klatt previews the biggest games in Week 12 of the College Football season. He begins by considering the possibility of a letdown game for Michigan against Maryland as they come off the big win vs Penn State and look ahead to the matchup with Ohio State next week. He discusses the huge matchup in the Pac-12 when #5 Washington travels to #11 Oregon State and considers the upset possibility for #1 Georgia when they head to Neyland to face #18 Tennessee. Klatt then breaks down a few games that look like potential upsets as #7 Texas heads to Iowa State, red-hot Arizona hosts #22 Utah and UCLA takes on their cross-town rivals USC. He finishes the show by discussing the Chip Kelly rumors and wonders if the Bruins are looking at their program with clear eyes. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Coming up on the Joel Clat Show, we break down games. I've got game previews, including my game, Michigan, Maryland, and three underdogs that I really like this weekend. 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.

Hey, what's up, everybody. Welcome into the Joel Clat show. I am Joel Glad. This show is presented. and by Hampton by Hilton. We've got a great show. We've got previews, game previews. It's here.

The weekend is almost here. We can get rid of all the drama that was the CFP. We can get rid of all the drama and just get back to the football field, which I always love. Remember to follow the show wherever you're listening, subscribe wherever you listen, wherever you get your podcast. Make sure to follow the show on social media at Joel Clatt Show. We've got all of our content out there. And then if you're watching on YouTube, please subscribe to the channel and invite a friend.

because even if you're listening to the pod wherever you get your podcast, we do have exclusive content, some X's and O's content, some video-based content that is unique to YouTube. So even if you just listen, make sure to head over to YouTube, subscribe there, so that you can get all of that content as we deliver it during the year. All right, let's get into it. Let's get into some of these games that we've got this year, or excuse me, this week. And I'm going to start with the game that I'm going to be at, Michigan at Maryland. So we're following Michigan around Harbaugh watch 2.0. What are we going to get on Friday? What are we going to get with this hearing?

Is Jim Harbaugh going to be on the field? And will it matter? We don't know. It didn't matter last Saturday. It certainly didn't when they beat Penn State. Michigan is a 19.5 point favorite on the road against Maryland. Now, before I get into this game, let's just acknowledge the fact that this game is both a hangover game

and a look-ahead game. It is the sandwich game. When we looked at the schedule, we thought Maryland was going to be a little bit better. Remember, they've lost a few games. They had a four-game losing streak after starting 5-0. But we thought this was going to be a real gauntlet

at the end for Michigan, and it's turned into a sandwich. Okay, so here we go with the middle of the two biggies. They beat Penn State in a highly emotional game. I mean, look at Sharon Moore after the game. Highly emotional game. That team was supercharged. win on the road in Happy Valley against Penn State.

And rightly so for what they were, you know, dealing with. And it's not that they're the victim in this situation. It's just the fact that that was a lot of adversity for that team, in particular the players to face during the course of that week. Then you come back and you play Maryland, but you still have the look ahead to Ohio State. I mean, that is a monster, a monster game with everything going on now that you're looking at in college football.

and, you know, the sign-stealing saga. And is Harbaugh are going to be on the field? Is he not going to be on the field? That game next week looks to just be as big and as interesting as a Michigan, Ohio State game can possibly get. And we've seen these teams play undefeated, you know, as undefeated. We saw it last year. And yet this game, this year seems like it's going to dwarf that because of all of the drama surrounding that game. So Michigan travels to me.

Maryland. They go on the road in conference play in November. They don't get to play Georgia State. They don't get to play an FCS opponent. They've got to go play Maryland. And they play them in this sandwich game. Do we see a letdown? Maybe. Maybe. The mark of a great team would be to not have a letdown. There hasn't been a more consistent team or a more dominant team during the course of this season than Michigan. If you look at the strength of schedule numbers now after they've played Penn State, their strength of schedule is actually better than even Georgia. They've been more consistent than Georgia. Will that continue?

We shall see. Coming off that first big test, they've now won 22 straight games in Big Ten competition. Now they travel to face Maryland. Like I said, Maryland snapped their four-game losing streak last week. They beat Nebraska on the road. They beat them 13-10. Maryland forced five turnovers, including four interceptions in that game. So the defense is going to be playing confident.

Now, can they expect that Michigan's going to just sit there and throw the ball around? Well, they don't have to. They might because they can, but they don't have to. Evidence, the 32 straight runs against Penn State, right? Michigan ran for 227 yards against the Nittany Lions, and that defense came in with the number two ranked rushing defense in America. In fact, if you strip out sacks, because remember, sack numbers count against rush numbers in college football, which we need to change.

but altogether, I digress. Michigan ran for 227 against what if you strip out sacks was the number one rush defense in all of college football. So they didn't do it against nobody, right? 32 straight runs against what you could argue was the best run defense in college football. And it was a rugged 227 yards. Yeah, they broke off a couple of nice explosive runs.

But man, that was a fist fight in there. you've got to assume at least that Michigan's going to be able to run the ball against Maryland. You've got to assume that. They were able to do that a year ago, and yet Maryland played them very close. It was actually one of the closest games that they played last year. No one remembers this, but Michigan wound up one in that game 3427, and Maryland had a few chances late to make that much more interesting. Again, it comes down to just the look-ahead aspect.

If Michigan is focused and if they're right and if they want to beat Maryland, they'll beat Maryland, right? Like, that's how good they are. They're one of the best teams in the country. We all know that. Maryland doesn't have enough to beat Michigan. However, if Michigan's not playing well, Talia Tunga Vialoa, he can throw it around.

This is a team that is capable. They were 5 and 0. They played Ohio State incredibly well in the first half. Mike Loxley has done a really nice job with the Terps. You know, you look at that four-game losing streak, and it was like Ohio State, there was a Penn State in there, and then there were a couple of just really close games. Well, that's what you get in the middle of the conference.

So if Michigan's not right, if there's any hangover, then they're going to be in a ballgame. If there's any look ahead, they're going to be in a ball game. And if there's a combination of both, then it could get interesting. I just keep being reminded, I believe it was 2018. It was Urban's last year. Remember that really good Ohio State team went and barely survived at Maryland in this exact week right before they were about to play Michigan. So something to watch there.

Hangover and look ahead. Harball watch that Friday hearing is going to be interesting. To say the least, will he be on the field? Don't know. I think that that hearing is probably a lot more interesting as it relates to the game next week. And more on that next week. All right, let's move on.

Let's go out to the PAC 12. The PAC 12 has got a few great matchups, and we keep saying this almost week over week. But Washington's traveling on the road to Corvall. Kalyn DeBoer takes the fifth ranked Huskies, and now he's got to face an 11th ranked Oregon State team. Oregon State is favored by two. That might surprise some. Doesn't surprise others.

Oregon State is uniquely built to face this specific Washington team. Let's go through it. The Huskies have now won 17 straight ball games. Everybody just looks at the Georgia win streak. which is incredible and so impressive. But that's also minimizing a 17-game win streak, which is ridiculously hard to do. You got to credit Kalin DeBore.

He's 21 and 2 in his two years at Washington as a head coach. He's now as a head coach in his career, 111. That's wild. That's wildly successful. I look at this team, and they've been living dangerously in the back half of the year. Okay? Are they undefeated?

Yes. Have they won 17 straight? Absolutely. And yet in their last six wins, they've all been by 10 points or less. And so now, that can go one of two ways, right? So the glasses is half full person. We'll look at that and say they know how to win tight ball games.

And fair enough. The pessimists would say, boy, they don't dominate teams to the level that they should. And fair enough, I think both of those things can be true. I will go to like when they need it, when they absolutely have to have it, boy, they're really tough to beat. Number one, their quarterback is excellent. And number two, they just seem to have this nature where they know how to win games.

They know how to make plays. I think that happened against Oregon. That happened against Arizona State and a wild one at home. That happened last week against Utah. Utah takes the halftime lead and Washington played fantastic football in the second half. And Utah really didn't have a chance in that second half because Washington was the better team. Now, this matchup is a little bit different because Oregon State is going to sit there and just run the ball right at the Huskies. And this is not a defense that I would say is going to sit there and just stop the run with the best of them in college football.

Oregon State's run game is ninth in the country right now. now in yards per carry at almost five and a half per carry. They're the Pac-12's second most run-heavy team. You know how difficult it is to beat them there. Remember, this is a team that is constantly in these games and really should have had a chance and should have won a couple of these big matchups a year ago. So you couple that back with the fact that Washington has been living dangerously

and you look at the Washington defense, as I pointed out in some of these pods this week, they've got the 102nd second rank total defense in the country. So there's a chance where Oregon State can minimize the possessions, keep pinnics on the sideline, keep the crowd involved into it, and hold the ball for 38 minutes, 39 minutes, 40 minutes. Well, then it becomes really precarious if you're Washington. Then it becomes all about your red zone defense. Can you hold them on long drives to field goals and not touchdowns?

How aggressive do you have to be on the offensive side? It's something that's very unique. Oregon State also rushes the passer really well. You look at them, they're fifth in the country and sacks with 36. Okay, so their ability to run the ball, their ability to rush the passer, that's why they're favored by two and a half. As good as Washington is with a 17-game win streak and a coach that's highly successful in 11, 11, 11 in his career, this is why they're a dog. It's a tough place to play, and Oregon State seems to be playing really well. A couple of guys to really watch out for in this game.

If Damien Martinez, the running back and Deshawn Finwick, the running back for Oregon State, if they have a big day, this is going to be really tough for Washington. Because, again, the minimized possessions, all of those, that good stuff. Jonathan Smith has done one hell of a job with the Oregon State Beavers. They're going to have a great chance. I will be shocked if this turns into a Washington blowout. I really will. The environment's going to be great.

Oregon State is favored by two. I'm not going to be surprised if Oregon State wins. I'm just not. But man, like I said, I'm going to hedge a little bit. My hedge is that every time that Washington needs it, needs it. Season on the line, they make plays. They make plays. It's a mark of a veteran team and a winner.

Washington is a winner. It's my favorite time of year as we get down to a couple of weeks left in the season, and almost Thanksgiving, we get these great matchups. 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 and their warm and friendly service, as you know.

Their free hot breakfast, folks, is an absolute game changer. If I ever have to stay because of whatever reason at a different hotel, and this happened before this relationship began with Hampton, I'm a breakfast guy. I want a cup of coffee and I want some breakfast. And I was so sick of paying 50, 60, $80 for scrambled eggs for room service and the exorbitant, you know, room charge and all the excess fees. I like to just wake up, go down out of my comfortable room, go down, get a hot breakfast, cup of coffee right there. It's perfect. I make my own waffle.

It's the way to go. It's the way to go. So whether you're cheering on your team from the stands or never. leaving the tailgate, Hampton by Hilton, will always give you that win, in particular for breakfast. Let's move on to the SEC. Georgia at Tennessee. Credit to Georgia and Tennessee for playing a league game this week rather than the FCS, which is so commonplace around the SEC. So their FCS was in different places of the season.

Actually, Georgia generally doesn't do that. Georgia generally plays a tougher schedule makeup. It doesn't always become the toughest schedule, but the tougher schedule makeup than most in the SEC and you give them a lot of credit. Okay, so Georgia's favored by 10. I think that's low because I don't know if Tennessee is very good at all, and this matchup is terrible for the Vols. They're ranked number 18th in the country. I felt like that was a total overreach by the committee, and now they're going to face a Georgia team that is playing their best football. Georgia is uniquely aware of what it takes to win championships. You don't win championships in September. You certainly

don't win them in October. You can lose them in those months, but you can't win them. You win them in November. You win them in early December. And they're peaking at the right time. They're playing their best football of the year right now. They've developed the areas of their team that they needed to get stronger. They've gotten much stronger. Meanwhile, Tennessee, I mean, they just got housed, housed by Missouri. Do we really know Missouri is that good? I mean, I don't know. Everyone wants to tell me that they're really good. But remember, they won against. Middle Tennessee State at home by four, Memphis by seven, had to survive Kansas State at home with a 61-yard field goal.

So that's the team that just absolutely obliterated Tennessee. Now, Georgia shows up. Georgia's won 27 straight games. They've won 43 of their last 44, and they're playing their best football this year. Is it as dominant a defense as we've seen in previous years? Probably not. Is it a better offense than we've seen in previous years? Absolutely. And now you look up and all of a sudden this offense is highly versatile, highly versatile.

They can beat you up in the ground, which they've done. They destroyed Ole Miss on the ground. They ran for 300 yards and over 8 yards per carry. Oh, and they can throw it really well. And with great efficiency, Carson Beck, I believe what is it? Five of his last seven games, he's thrown for 300 yards. Not 200, not 250, three bills. Three bills. Three bills. they're really versatile on offense. This is an offense that I think Kirby Smart looked at and realized he needed as he's in these games, these shootout style games in the playoffs.

He didn't get that in the championship, but he certainly got that in the college football playoffs semifinal last year. So here's this team that's so much better. Bowers is back. The defense is playing well. They're good at the line of scrimmage. They can run the ball. They can throw the ball.

Carson Beck is playing really well. Now they're going to go play Tennessee. What is Tennessee? Well, you can say like, well, Tennessee is really good at home. They've won 14 straight at home. Yeah, but the last loss was to who? Georgia in 2021. Here come the Bulldogs again.

And when you look at when Tennessee is successful and when they're not successful, this is not like last year. Tennessee is not a team that can just go throw the ball to win. They have to be able to run it. And their seven wins, they're averaging 260 rush yards per game. And their three losses, they've averaged 105. rush yards per game. That's the key. So you're telling me that Tennessee's all of a sudden going to be able to run the ball against Georgia? I don't care where the game is at. I really don't.

There's a reason why Georgia's favored by 10, and I think it should be more. They're playing the best football maybe of anybody in the country. They're versatile on offense. Tennessee is not going to slow them down nor stop them. Missouri, by the way, isn't even a great offense. they're in the, what, are they 31st in the country in scoring offense? And they just rolled up Tennessee. What is Georgia going to do with a versatile offense that can run it and throw it? Tennessee is, that's not going to get pretty. That is not going to get pretty.

Ten's not enough. I want to go into some dogs that I really like. So let's get into some sleepers around college football. And these underdogs and these matchups are in charge. So Sleeper Picks is sponsored by Hampton by Hilton for the stay. Let's start with Iowa State as a seven and a half point dog at home to Texas. Now, Texas and Steve Sarkesian, they've played really well this year. And you've got to give them credit, even though they have had stretches during games that they haven't looked their best,

they haven't had the entire game where that happened. Now, you could say that was maybe Oklahoma, but there were some mistakes in there. Listen, they lose a game to Oklahoma, rivalry game. Something to be said for that. Now they can clinch a spot in the Big 12 title game with a win over Iowa State. And yet, Iowa State has won three of the last four against Texas. Texas won last year, but it was in Austin and they won it by three. This is a program that Matt Campbell has built that just is unafraid of the Texas Longhorns.

They play them really well. And I fully anticipate that that's going to happen again. The biggest problem that Iowa State has is that they're not great offensively. When you look at their offense, they're 10th in the Big 12 in scoring, their 13th in total offense. That's not going to cut it. Because Texas, offensively, with Quinn Ewer's back, you would at least anticipate that they're going to be able to put up points.

So Matt Campbell is going to have to find a way with that team to match those points. I don't think that they're just going to go in there and stop Texas's offense. Even with a really good defense, by the way, the Cyclones quietly have one of the best defenses really in the country, but certainly in the Big 12. Number one of the Big 12 in total defense, number four in scoring defense,

and they're going to have to play their best game. Texas is dealing with a massive injury, massive injury. Jonathan Brooks, they're every down, versatile running back. He tore up his knee, and he's going to be out for the year. So now you're going to look at CJ Baxter. Baxter was the number one running back recruit in the country, and he came in, he started the opener, and Brooks kind of took over.

It doesn't mean Baxter is not good, though. Baxter is excellent. I mean, excellent. When you watch him on tape, his skill set jumps off the screen. Now, is he as good as Jonathan Brooks? He's probably a more talented player, but he's probably not a more versatile player.

So Texas might be hamstrung in terms of versatility a little bit and how they want to handle the passing game. I still love the fact that when yours is on the field, this Texas team is very good. Sark can win his 10th game for the first time as a head coach with a win. And this is just a tough place to win, in particular this time of year. Texas is going to roll up there.

It's probably going to be cold. It's probably going to be windy. Take it from me. We went in there, win and we win the division and lock up a spot in the Big 12 championship game, and it was very difficult. There was a tornado. It was wild. So hopefully there's not a tornado. But seven and a half seems like a lot after everything that I've just said.

Seems like a lot. You're missing your most versatile offensive player in Jonathan Brooks. It's a team that's beat them three of the last four times. They only, Texas only won by three in Austin a year ago. seven and a half seems like a lot. That's why they're one of my sleepers. A couple of more. Utah is a one-point dog at Arizona.

And as much as Arizona has been really one of the best stories in college football, this Utah team is still Utah. This is still a Utah team that is back-to-backpack 12 champs. This is still a Utah team that rolled up there to Washington and had the lead at halftime. I look at Kyle Whittingham. And Nick Saban's the greatest coach ever.

Kyle's easily one of the top three or four coaches in all of college football. Easily. And it doesn't matter what they have. It doesn't matter the injuries that they have, the style with which they have to play. He's going to put a team out there that's going to compete, that's going to be physical, and is going to have a chance.

I think you saw that last week against, against Washington. The Uts, when they get Sione Vaki, remember, he's the two-way player for them. He plays safety, and they've brought him over because of all the injuries that they've had, they brought him over to play offense as well. He was a slot receiver in high school. He's got really great natural instincts on the offensive side, and so they brought him over. Oregon totally took him away and they were inept on offense. When they get him involved, Sione Vaki, they're actually a really good offense. They got him involved in the first half against Washington. He had that long TD reception in that game.

And they're just a totally different offense when he's involved. Devon Vele, he's been their go-to receiver. Over the second half of the season, he had five catches for 145 against Washington, and they're going to face Arizona. And now Arizona, now the expectations are ratcheted up. Now all of a sudden you're a favorite against the two-time defending Pac-12 champion. Jed Fish has done a wonderful job. Jed should be considered for some of the bigger jobs, Texas A&M, out there because of what he's done.

He took over a program, and in his first year, they were 1 and 11. There was nothing there. Trust me, trust me. That Arizona program was hollowed out. And that was in 2021. And now all of a sudden you get here to 2023. And what has Jed Fish done? Oh, they've only won four straight, three of which were against ranked opponents.

So it's not even that they're beating up on bottom feeders. their record is good, and we're just like, oh, hey, look at this. Arizona, this is a fun story. No, they're like beating real opponents. They're going to play their sixth ranked opponent in their last seven games. So they're tested, their battle tested. And they've done this after making a change at quarterback. Now, first out of necessity, Jaden Dolora goes down. He goes down with an ankle injury early in the season. And then Noah Fafita comes in, this young quarterback, sets the world on fire. Fafita, 16 touchdowns, four interceptions, in his four starts. He's fourth in the country

and completion percentage at nearly 74%. He's exactly what Jedfish needs in this offense. They've got really talented wide receivers who are fast and big and physical. One of them, Tedaroa McMillan, top wide receiver in the Pac-12, really, one of them. He was a former five-star guy. He is excellent, excellent. And so I get the fact that they're favored,

but it's still the two-time defending Pac-12 champions. And remember, one of the strengths for you, is their ability to rush the passer. So that's something to watch for in this game. Again, Utah is a one-point underdog. I actually think that Kyle Whittingham and the Utes go in there and get a win. That does not diminish what Arizona has done.

It doesn't diminish Jed Fish. It actually, in some ways, you look at this Arizona team and Jedfish should be elevated. The fact that his name is not being thrown around for Texas A&M, well, I guess now it is officially right here. We did on this show. Jed should be absolutely considered at Texas A&M. All right, last game of the day before we get out of here.

Let's stay here in L.A. It's UCLA is a six and a half point underdog at USC. All right. That seems fair, in particular with the way that UCLA has played in the last couple of weeks. Both of these teams have struggled this year. I don't think there's any doubt about it. USC has lost four or five. UCLA has lost their last two, including a terrible 10-point loss at home to Arizona State.

That is a really bad look. and that loss in particular is why you're starting to hear some grumblings about Chip Kelly at UCLA. More on that in a little bit. This is the last game of the regular season for the Trojans, if you're not aware. They have a quote, off week next week. And as a result of that off week at the end of the season, this is why they've had to play nine straight, nine power five opponents in consecutive weeks. That just doesn't happen.

You look at the schedules, that just does not happen. At most, like teams out of the SEC with their eight game conference schedule are playing two, sometimes three straight weeks against Power 5 opponents. Maybe in an off year four, sometimes in a nine conference game schedule, you'll get a five week stretch against Power 5 opponents. But that's really it. Maybe, I mean, six is outrageous. They've played nine, nine straight, Power 5 opponents. The schedule was never on their side, and yet their office. continued to churn along. The Trojans still are number three in the country and scoring

offense, but we were never in question of that. We never questioned what they were going to be on the offensive side under Lincoln Riley. The entire question was what they were going to give Caleb Williams, what they were going to support Caleb Williams with on the defensive side. And guess what? There are a hundred and twenty-third in the country and scoring defense. That is exactly 120 spots lower than their offense. You wonder why Alex Grinch was let go? That's why Alex Grinch was let go. This defense, they held a team under 40 points for just the second time in the last seven games last week, happened to be Oregon.

Oregon did not play great and still won handily over USC. And yet, meanwhile, UCLA has hit the skids. They've lost back-to-back games. It was Arizona, who's a good team, and then Arizona State, who's not particularly a great team. They scored a total in those two ball games under Chip Kelly, no less, 17 points in those two games. They've had massive quarterback issues. If you haven't followed UCLA, Colin Schley, that's right, not Ned Sneebly from School of Rock, but Colin Schley, that's right, I just dropped a school of rock. Colin Schley got his first start of the season last week against Arizona State.

struggle. Then he left with what was an apparent head injury. Fourth stringer Chase Griffin entered the game. And again, people are upset at Chip Kelly. Unclear whether you're going to get Ethan Garbers or Dante Moore back. Now, they participated in warmups. You would think that they would maybe have a chance to play in this game, but totally unclear. Now, I think that one of those two guys is going to play.

I think. and when one of those two guys plays and is healthy, this is a far different team than the team that's just struggling with depth with Ned Schneebley at quarterback. Colin Schley, sorry. That's disrespectful. My apologies to you with Colin Schley at quarterback. This is a team that's a top 15 rushing team in the country.

200 yards per game, over 200 yards per game. It's a pass rush that's fifth in the country and sacks per game at 3.6. You know, that's not good, especially when you look at Caleb. Williams holding the football. This is a team that you would think is going to rally around this sentiment about their head coach. And this is where I'll get into the head coach stuff. There is talk about UCLA wanting to move on from Chip Kelly. That to me is surprising. That is not evaluating your program with clear eyes. It just really isn't. It's not understanding what your program is and how you support it. UCLA is not a school

that has supported their football program to the level that others do around the country. So let's just hold up two examples. Texas A&M and UCLA. Okay. Now, the expectations at both of those places, at least it seems, is similar. Compete for and win national,

or maybe a national title, but certainly conference titles. Be a top-end program in your conference. Okay. So at Texas A&M, the fan base, the boosters, and the athletic department, pour support in to make those expectations a reality. So when they fall short, they make wild decisions like firing a coach with $76 million left on his contract. But it's hard to argue because they have poured support in to making that happen. So their support and their expectations are aligned.

And so when you fall short of those expectations, you can make a change. Now let's move over to UCLA. UCLA has similar, maybe not quite the expectations that A&M has. Let's be fair. But similar, they want to, you know, compete. We want to be a Pac-12 champion.

We want to compete. Okay. You can't fill your stadium up with fans. and you certainly don't support the program to a level that would align with the expectations you have. So the people falling short are the support for UCLA, not the actual program. In fact, look at the program. 2021, 8 and 4, 22, 9 and 4. And within a whisper of actually beating Caleb Williams and USC,

and now it's a totally different year, that's possibly a 10-win year. then you lose a quarterback that started 8 million games and is now in the National Football League. You get younger. You've got all this youth. And now all of a sudden, like, six and five is not good enough. I get it. The last week was bad. I get it. You can't lose by 10 to Arizona State. Colin Schley started at quarterback. So UCLA, please evaluate your situation with more clear eyes. I'm not saying that Chip Kelly has to say. I'm just, saying that it seems odd that there's all this talk a year after winning nine games at UCLA. Winning nine games at UCLA is surpassing what they do to support the program.

So the expectations that now Chip Kelly has put on the program and that Chip Kelly actually achieved surpassed what they did in support. And now all of a sudden they're, what, falling short? Six and five is about how they support the program. I know that's going to come off as like some sort of defense of Chip Kelly, I'm just thinking that that's a reality. That's a reality. And so we get back to the sleeper aspect of this game, UCLA and USC. So UCLA is now a dog. They're a six and a half point dog.

But if they get a quarterback that is more experienced like Moore or like Garbers, with their run game against USC's poorest defense, that's 120 third ranked scoring defense in the country, you've got to imagine that they're going to be able to move the football and score some points. That's generally what this matchup comes down to. Then you look at UCLA's defense perfectly suited to face USC. Why they get after the quarterback? That's one of the best pass rushes in college football.

Like I said, fifth in the country in sacks per game with 3.6. So that's why I think UCLA is a nice little sleeper there. On the road, if you want to call it that, across town against USC. Okay, that'll do it for today. I can't wait for this weekend's games. We're getting down to it. Heidzman trophy race getting down to it. make sure to subscribe to the show wherever you listen to your podcast.

Make sure to get over to YouTube as well, subscribe. Share the show with a friend. Go out there on social media. You can follow us and get all of our content at Joel Klatt Show. I really appreciate all of you for listening. I know everything I say, you're not going to agree with, but that's what makes college football great, is that we can come here and discuss a sport that we love and that we're passionate about.

Thanks for listening. Have a great weekend and enjoy the games.