University football predictions: Joel Klaat displays the 12 -team field

It’s never too early to start thinking about the College Football Playoff, especially as the calendar turns from September to October.

FOX Sports lead college football analyst Joel Klatt is taking another crack at projecting the CFP field now that we have a month’s worth of games under our belt. Some teams, like Ohio State and Oregon, appear to be locks to make the CFP, while preseason darlings Clemson and Notre Dame are clinging to fading hopes.

Before he unveiled his projections on “The Joel Klatt Show,” Klatt also predicted how he sees the conference championships shaking out. Here’s a look at how Klatt thinks the rest of the season will go down.

Conference championships

Big Ten: Ohio State beats Oregon

SEC: Texas beats Ole Miss

Big 12: Texas Tech beats Utah

ACC: Miami (Fla.) beats Georgia Tech

Seeds

1. Ohio State

After securing a victory over Texas in Week 1, Klatt believes the Buckeyes could run the table through the Big Ten Championship Game because they avoid Oregon in the regular season. 

“Oregon and Ohio State, up to this point, have been the two best teams in the Big Ten,” Klatt said. “All due respect to Indiana, obviously, but those two would be my championship game participants.”

Ohio State still has games against Penn State and Michigan on its schedule, but the defending national champions have certainly looked the part through its first four games. The Buckeyes lead the nation in scoring defense and are eighth in total defense, while quarterback Julian Sayin leads the nation in completion percentage and is eighth in yards per attempt. 

2. Miami (Fla.)

Ahead of the major tilt between Miami and Florida State this weekend, the winner of that game will seemingly control its own destiny in the ACC. Klatt has the Hurricanes winning that game, with their wins over Notre Dame, USF and Florida helping their seeding. 

“I think that they win the ACC and they, in all likelihood, would be an undefeated or at worst a one-loss team,” Klatt said. 

Carson Beck has certainly been a boost for Miami at quarterback, but defensive lineman Rueben Bain Jr. headlines the Canes’ defensive line, which has been widely praised throughout the country. 

3. Oregon

Klatt’s reasoning for Oregon as the No. 3 seed is simple. 

“If Oregon were to play Ohio State as an undefeated team and lose, they would be the No. 3 seed in this situation,” Klatt said.

Oregon running the table in the regular season seems plausible, especially after winning arguably its toughest game of the year at Penn State on Saturday. Two of its three toughest remaining games are at home (Indiana, USC), while it has to travel to Washington to close out the year. 

Quarterback Dante Moore became the Heisman favorite following his impressive performance against Penn State, while the Ducks’ defense is top 12 in both yards against and scoring. 

4. Texas

There’s been plenty of panic surrounding quarterback Arch Manning with his underwhelming play through the first third of the year. However, Klatt is bullish that he will right the ship. 

“I have them winning that league, and yet I could see them stumbling along the way, still getting into that game and winning that game,” Klatt said of Texas.

While Texas already has one loss, it came in non-conference play, meaning the Longhorns could still afford a conference loss and remain in the hunt for an SEC title. They might need that cushion, too, with four games remaining against teams currently ranked in the top 25: Oklahoma, Vanderbilt, Georgia, and Texas A&M.

5. Texas Tech

For Klatt, Texas Tech is the “class of the Big 12” and he thinks that the team has a “good chance to be, at worst, 12-1.”

“I’m a big believer in Texas Tech at this point after covering them and meeting with their team and coaches,” Klatt said. “There’s just something real about not only Joey McGuire, but that defense and that defensive line. Their linebacker crew, including Jacob Rodriguez, who’s one of the better players in the country, and he was the national defensive player of the week after that win over Utah.”

Texas Tech has been one of the most well-rounded teams in the nation to this point, ranking second in total offense and 11th in total defense. The Red Raiders still have two games remaining against ranked opponents: Arizona State and BYU.

6. Ole Miss

As Ole Miss knocked off LSU in Week 5, Klatt is bullish on the Rebels’ chances of making a run at the College Football Playoff.

“Another team that you look up and their schedule is just built in order to succeed this year,” Klatt said. “Their SEC schedule is not as difficult as other SEC schedules. You look at the win that they had last weekend over LSU, and it’s Ole Miss.”

To Klatt’s point, Ole Miss only has two ranked opponents left on its schedule (Georgia, Oklahoma), which is relatively light compared to the rest of the SEC. Trinidad Chambliss throwing for at least 300 yards in each of his first three starts certainly helps the rest of the slate feel winnable for Ole Miss. 

7. Texas A&M

Texas A&M is Klatt’s seventh seed for two reasons: quarterback and defensive play. 

“They’ve got that ability,” Klatt said. “I know they didn’t throw it well against Auburn. They threw well against Notre Dame. I think that Marcel Reed, while streaky, has the ability to hurt you through the air and, obviously, with his legs. They’re great at wide receiver. They can run the football and their defense just showed that they can totally dominate and win an entire game.”

The Aggies’ defense allowed just 177 total yards to Auburn this past weekend, but what might be more impressive is that Texas A&M didn’t allow a single third-down conversion (0-13). Texas A&M also has a favorable SEC schedule, with three ranked games remaining (LSU, Missouri, Texas). But in that game against Texas in Austin, Klatt gave the edge to the Longhorns. 

8. Alabama

Similar to Texas A&M, Klatt is a believer in Alabama’s quarterback play and, thus, its playoff chances. 

“[Ty Simpson] “He plays just like the best player in the country.” I think Tai Simpson is really good. Now they will need to play football better. He played their defense decent, although they did not stop the puppy all this wonderful against Georgia.

“Now in a great position with their loss of the conference not to control their fate.”

Simpson climbed to second place on the Haseman board after Alabama beat Georgia, but the tide is still facing a difficult extension. Fortunately, among the five opponents that left Alabama in its schedule, four at home (Vanderbilt, Tennesse, LSU, and Oklahoma) with Missouri only on the road.

9. Pennsylvania State

The margin of Pennsylvania’s state of error has shrunk with its loss to Oregon on Saturday, but Klaat believes that the Nitani Black still has a sufficient schedule for CFP operation.

“They still have to play Ohio,” Klaat said. “In this scenario, I say they win one of these games,” Kalhat said. “Let’s say it’s Indiana. This will be the best victory for it. You will look at this and you will tell yourself, as you know, there are some best victories in front of them.”

The only remaining matches in Pennsylvania against the classified opponents are Ohio and Indiana, although the team must travel to Iowa in a difficult match at Kennik Stadium. While James Franklin has struggled against the 10 best teams, he constantly takes care of the games that he is expected to win throughout his term at Happy Valley.

10. Georgia

Klaat said he is considering putting Georgia in ninth place, but he believes the committee will avoid the Georgia Alabama match in the first round. However, Al-Badghg is still in the field of qualifiers because it loves their chances of going 10-2.

“The most difficult of their remaining games at home, which is huge for them,” said Klaat. “Although they just lost at home, this was the longest series of victories in the country.

Kirby Smart may be the highest floor of any coach in the country, helping Georgia to win at least 10 games in the normal season in both the last seven seasons (except for the neglected 2020 season). So, the bet on Georgia to win 10 games is the smart bet he makes.

11. Notradam

Notre Dame gets a final offer at the Klatt Show in October CFP. Although this may be surprising, given the beginning of Notre Dame 0-2, Klaat said that he is not sure of the Irish fighting committee punished for close losses to two teams in the CFP field.

However, the margin is thin for the rest of the Nuddam team, but Klaat is believed to be in a good position.

“I think they will kill people for the rest of the year with a truly strong crime and perhaps one of the best players in the country.”

CJ Carr was the revelation in Qurtbbeck for Notre Dame, where he was thrown 1092 yards, nine land touch, and two objection through the first four team games. Irish fighting does not have any games that remain against the arranged enemies.

12. USF

After calling USF the first group of 6 teams last week, Klatt is honored to take the automatic offer of non -strong conferences with a victory over Florida and Boise State this season.

“I think South Florida is still a team, in the end, perhaps the best team in that league,” said Klaat.

I just missed:

Indiana, Michigan, Tennessee, Oklahoma

As for Indiana and Michigan, Klaat asked whether any of the two teams could get a strong victory enough to push them to his home.

“Can Michigan reach Ohio’s game with only one loss? It might be difficult,” said Klaat. “They have no arranged difference before that game. So they will not have anything.

As for Tennessee, Kalaat loves the volumes, but losing to Georgia may harm them if they are the last two teams from the Supreme Education Council competing for a big offer. As for Aklahoma, John Mateer was switched into an attempt to show how Sooners performed with six games against opponents classified on the specified date.

“We do not know exactly how it will look like it is in good health,” Klaat said about Matter. “We don’t know if he will be able to play the rest of the season after that. November is brutal.”

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