Joel Klatt wasn’t a popular figure amongst Penn State fans for a brief time last fall.
Due to a crack he made about coach James Franklin many PSU fans took exception, and Klatt subsequently apologized.
During the Michigan-Indiana broadcast, Gus Johnson and Joel Klatt took a shot at James Franklin and Penn State.
Gus noted Franklin’s Tuesday press conference: “He said Michigan ain’t playing anybody.”
Joel: “That’s pretty rich from a guy whose team is playing UMass.”
— Alex Rocco (@AlexRocco13_) October 14, 2023
But Penn State fans will like what Klatt had to say on Thursday’s episode of “The Herd” with Colin Cowherd.
FOX Sports analyst Joel Klatt thinks Penn State will make the College Football Playoffs and host a playoff game #PSU pic.twitter.com/LTgMFtAAXj
— Austin Bechtold (@AustinRBechtold) August 22, 2024
Klatt feels Penn State will not only make the first 12-team College Football Playoff but be good enough to host a game.
Klatt gave a few reasons for this. Here they are.
WHY PENN STATE WILL HOST A PLAYOFF GAME: THE CLASS OF ‘22
Penn State’s 2022 recruiting class was thought by many to be one of, if not the best of the James Franklin era.
So far, it hasn’t disappointed.
Running backs Nicholas Singleton and Kaytron Allen became contributors almost instantly as true freshmen.
Defensively, Abdul Carter, Dani Dennis-Sutton and KJ Winston all have the potential to be first-round picks in next year’s draft.
Then, of course, there’s Drew Allar; the quarterback who, like most quarterbacks, is the team’s most important player.
“These guys are NFL players,” Klatt said, “and a lot of their fanbase, and me included, have been pointing to this season as a year that they need to take a step forward. So that leads to kind of the next thing.”
WHY PENN STATE WILL HOST A PLAYOFF GAME: THE SCHEDULE
Penn State doesn’t have an easy schedule.
Not a lot of teams have to open their season on the road against a school that went 9-4 last season but that’s what Penn State has to Aug. 31 in Morgantown, West Virginia.
Road trips to USC (Oct. 12) and Wisconsin (Oct. 26) won’t be easy, either, nor will the Nov. 2 home game against Ohio State, which could well be the best team in the country.
But Penn State doesn’t have to face Oregon, who starts the season ranked No. 3, or No. 9 Michigan, and that could be huge.
“Their schedule for Big Ten standards is softer than others,” Kraft said. “They don’t face Oregon, they don’t face Michigan, so their toughest game is hosting Ohio State. Now, that’s not to sneeze at, obviously. Ohio State, at least to me, is the No. 1 team in the country in the preseason. But as (the schedule) could be in the Big Ten, that’s fairly manageable. So you have this manageable schedule and you have this recruiting class that you’ve been pointing to for a couple of years with NFL talent all over the field. And their defense is always incredible. They get a new offensive coordinator, he comes from Kansas.
Klatt also said he feels Allar will “take a step forward.”
WHY PSU WILL HOST A PLAYOFF GAME: HISTORY
If the College Football Playoff took 12 teams instead of four starting in 2016, Penn State would have made it in six of the past eight seasons.
“No team,” Klatt said, “has been hurt more by a lack of a 12-team playoff than Penn State.”
“This is what played out because they can’t get over the hump of Michigan and Ohio State, in particular, in their own division. Now, they don’t have divisions.”
Overall, Klatt feels “everything points to Penn State taking a step forward.”
“That means, to me, being in the top eight in the playoff and hosting a first-round Playoff game in Happy Valley.
“They’re hosting a first-round playoff game,” he said.
