Joel Klatt's post-spring top 25
The big ten highlights:
- 1 - ohio state
- 4 - Oregon (that's still weird to write)
- 8 - Michigan: seems like business as usual, not much has changed. Schedule is tough (TX, USC, @Wash, Oregon, @osu). QB is the question mark.
- 9 - Penn State: they could be a CFP and BT champion contender b/c they have experience and an easier schedule than Michigan.
- 15 - USC
- 22 - Nebraska
- 24 - Iowa
Controversial teams at 5 and 6. Love his insights.
OSU is literally #1 or #2 every single year - they certainly have the talent but I didn't see anything in their spring game that jumped out at me.
in his words the biggest difference is that this OSU team will be built and win or lose based on their defense not their offense. Interesting to me given Seth's recent comments that OSU needs decide what their identity is if they are going to take the crown back from UM.
Whether deciding to be a defensively lead team with a running based offense will work or not remains to be seen but its certainly an identiy change.
It worked for almost 3 quarters against Mizzou. But then their 3-0 lead turned into a 14-3 loss.
Their identity is to load up the bases and hope the pitcher hits the guy at the plate so Third Base can walk on home.
That’s toughness!
don't even bother to load the bases, just start them at 3rd.
I agree their defense seems like the calling card this season but that's so antithetical to what OSU has been under Day that I could see it go sideways if they struggle. They honestly were a defense-first team for a lot of last year and it worked somewhat well but ran into issues against the better teams on the schedule.
They are 0 for the decade in the 2020s, which is nice.
Has anything ever jumped out at you for a spring game and actually impacted the following season? Jack Sawyer had 4 sacks in the spring game.. 4 years ago
Shouldn't the comment "quarterback is the question mark" apply to OSU as well?
It seems safe to say that OSU's QB situation has a much higher floor than Michigan's, so maybe one '?' versus '???'.
Sure, but I wouldn't be comfortable picking a team # 1 when the most important position on the field is unproven.
Kyle McCord threw 2 interceptions against Michigan and Michael Penix went 27 - 51. OSU will be starting a QB who could potentially do a lot worse - against Michigan or any of a number of other top defenses.
Shhhhhhh… let them keep thinking it’s an upgrade at QB. What’s the difference with their OL?
I respect good defense - but, am still drawn to the number of stops - forced punts - that the Buckeye D imposed on Michigan in the second half of the last three Michigan v OSU contests.
Georgia, bama and Ohio State were all starting new QBs last year and I think GA was ranked 1 and bama and OSU were ranked in the top 5 or pre season
Last year - the '23 season - the three teams you noted - Georgia, Bama, and Ohio State - were all top four teams - in both the Coaches and AP's pre-season polls. Michigan was second in both polls.
But Michigan didn't have a QB question lol. They were returning a starting QB. My comment and the comment above mine were about the ranking committees and if they would be hesitant to rank a team high if they had a quarterback question. I pointed out they ranked 3 teams with QB concerns high just last year. See how that all ties together? I don't know what "Michigan was second" has to do with that. I guess that's cool? 3 of those teams also have the color red-ish. 2 are in the sec. Notice how those are true facts but also don't contribute anything? You did the same thing on one of my other posts lol. You're absolutely one of those people aren't you?
Didn't Iowa lose their punter?
I feel like punter at Iowa is like the OL/Linebackers at Wisconsin. They always manage to have guys at those spots.
Love the cliffhanger of coyly alluding to controversial teams at 5&6. Is Joel Klatt secretly oriental andrew trying to drive clicks to his own material? The world may never know.
#5 is Ole Miss, #6 is OU.
Actually, he has Utah at #6. and yes, Ole Miss at #5
He has Oklahoma at #17.
Been a while since Nebraska finished above .500, much less a Top 25 ranking.
The Cornholes should temper their hopes in the new BIG - don't think it is ever going to be that good for them again...
People left us for dead. Clemson used to be a word for the most heartbreaking choke. Washington was once left for dead, as were ND, Penn St and pre Saban Alabama. Nebraska is a major draw with fans nationwide and sellout crowds despite miserable seasons. If Iowa and Wisconsin can contend for the Big Ten title, Nebraska can too. Theyll be back - maybe not under Rhule, but I think it's more likely than them going the way of Minnesota.
Nebraska has a fundamental issue in that they don't have a good recruiting footprint and kids being recruited today don't remember Nebraska being dominant in the 90s because they weren't born
I don't think they'll ever be 'back' again to the level of being national title contenders
And their glory days were built on running the option and using lots of steroids.
Counterpoint: They have an absolutely rabid fanbase, some of whom have money. NIL cash overcomes geography often enough that it won't matter where the school is located.
Nebraska will be back.
They also currently have a coach who, no matter how poorly, coached in the NFL as a head coach.
They also have a coach who implied that getting "scouted" is why his team lost 45-7 on his home turf.
A good coach like Rhule will may get them back to a top 15ish program, but they won't make a national championship game this century
In terms of NC- Penn St- still dead, ND- very dead, Nebraska- extremely dead
For B10 Championship- who knows? B10 schedule difficulty varies so much depending on the team that winning the Big 10 if you aren't Michigan or OSU will likely just mean that you were gifted an easy schedule.
If we care about winning the B10, Michigan will be facing a more difficult schedule than average every year due to our rivalry game with OSU- Not worth worrying about since this will change again as soon as the B10 adds some more teams. I'd argue that no B10 Team should have a schedule that doesn't include 1 of the top 3 teams (Michigan, OSU, Oregon)
Michigan has 4 2023 Top 10 Teams on our schedule in 2024- compare that to
Rutgers Conference Schedule (with SP+ rating):
Washington (9.2)
Nebraska (5.6)
Wisconsin (11.0)
UCLA (6.2)
USC (11.5)
Minnesota (4.2)
Maryland (3.5)
Illinois (-1.3)
Michigan State (-5.1)
Unless your metric is "winning the national title," ND is NOT dead - theyve been to 2 playoffs and 1 BCS title in the last dozen years, and were quite close again in 2021. Penn St in 2017 lost 2 games by 4 total points that kept them from Indy where theyd have to face a Wisconsin team who themselves was just a TD away from the playoff. Winning a natty is HARD. These schools all did contend in a very real way - and pre 2021, Wiscy and Penn St were as close to the playoff as Michigan. Notre Dame was much closer.
Dude, I think there's something drastically wrong with your keyboard. Did you spill your beer?
I was typing while feeding a 2 week old, but i edited for clarity
All of it is based on Dylan Raiola. He's the big shiny new toy that the whole state wants to play with. Sounds like he performed really well in their spring game (in a manufactured environment with some defensive players already out, where there was no fear of him getting hit, but still), and with competent coaching he could be the answer they've been waiting for.
I don't expect them to win the Big Ten next year. I expect he'll have several moments of growing pains, and at least one really bad "welcome to college football, buddy" moment in him next year. JJ had that moment against MSU when he fumbled. But there is still zero reason for them not to make a bowl game next year and probably hit 7-8 wins.
Nebraska has only one game on its schedule that I look at and say "You have no chance in that game," and that's on the road at OSU. Probably @ USC too, but I'm skeptical that Lincoln Riley managed to fix all of SC's issues in one offseason. Nebraska has a path to a double digit win season. I won't bet on it, but it could happen.
Klatt just lost all credibility putting Nebraska and Iowa in the top 25.
All credibility? I dunno, but I think he has earned the right to throw in a few WAGs (if its even that) on the back half of his preseason top 25.
All credibility? I dunno
It was hyperbole. I know this is the internet and it's hard to tell at times, so my fault.
WAG or not, I will pull a Brian Cook and eat a lemon if either of these teams are in the top 25 at the end of the season.
iowa will be good with their defense filled with random corn-fed white guys.
Nebraska needs to earn it before they're even in consideration for top 25. They have a very backloaded schedule. Could very well be 6-1 in late October going into an ohio if they are actually improved. But then finish with UCLA, USC, wisconsin, and iowa.
In klatts defense, you can make an argument for 15 of the unranked teams to be ranked number 25 going into the pre season
I'm actually good with 6-8 this year to re-tool with a new staff/QB and make another run at a championship in '25 & '26.
Uhhhh maybe 2026 but this is a peak roster year for the defense, they’re going to be brand new in 2025
I thought you meant 6-8 as our record on first glance..
No issue with where he ranked us. Pretty fair. The Ohio State off-season love is ubiquitous…but again I don’t see the line play from them. OL looks mid at best and the DL while good isn’t world class. Like Brian points out, JTT is a wrecking ball only when teams try to block him with a TE or RB. But the thing I just don’t get is Penn St. What on earth have they done to make you think they won’t go 9-3 again?
I tend to agree about PSU. That said, their schedule is easier than Michigan's. Their toughest games are @USC, vs osu, vs Washington. Maybe @ Wisconsin. Their OOC P5 game is against WVU which is not a bad team, maybe above average, but not top tier. I could see them going 10-2 against this schedule. I think they lose to osu again and one of USC or Washington, but could win the rest.
OSU gets lots of love from sports journalists year after year. It's almost as mysterious as their recruiting.
It’s not really mysterious. They have been a national title contender every year for over a decade, and they recruit very well as you mentioned.
Yeah, their only regular season loss last year was against the best team in the country and that game was tight even though it was a road game and their coaches all had a second job working for a private investigator.
I would be interested to see Klatt's ranking based solely on his perception of team quality as strength of schedule seems to play a big part in his rankings.
Michigan being a very strong team with a very strong perceived strength of schedule is a good position. They may be 8th in his ranking, but would he really pick Utah, Ole Miss or even Alabama over Michigan in a neutral site week 1 matchup? Hearing him rave about Michigan's defensive line, I doubt it.
I think we are going to find out what kind of team we have early vs Texas. If our defense shows up then I think we have a chance of getting thru the schedule with only 1-2 losses and being in the top 3-6 going into the playoffs, I'd be more surprised at being better than that than worse though.
Texas offense will be a good challenge for us. They have what some say a potential Heisman QB with experience. That game will be a tough game. Need to control the ball and run all over them and olay good defense. We can't get into a shootout with them