Joel Cratt
Lead College Football Analyst
We’re a little late for college football, so let’s empty our mail bags.
In the latest episode of my podcast, The Joel Klatt Show, I answered listener questions from social media and worked on several soccer and non-football topics.
We are all waiting for the return of football, so here are some of them.
Joel, what are the top five most underrated venues and environments in college football? – @mrdunaway
I have previously created similar lists and ranked the top venues, but venues are driven by an environment driven by matchups. So, in many cases it actually depends on the game you see (or, in my case, the phone). There were several venues that I could play and be called games. For example, the old cotton bowl for the Red River game is one of them. When I was in Colorado, I was able to play at the old Orange Bowl Stadium. It was incredible.
Those stadiums had history, but I am fascinated by the underrated parts. The environment is match-up-based, so focus is on the venue. A great, underrated venue is Iowa’s Kinnik Stadium. It’s a great venue to watch the game. Folsom Field in Colorado is underrated. It feels like the fans are above you. The program has been moving things in its final few seasons, and the student section is shaking again. Washington’s Husky Stadium is a truly beautiful venue. The stadium is also very noisy. The setting and redoing is great.
Oregon’s Autzen Stadium is talking about night games at LSU, The Shoe (Ohio State), The Big House (Michigan), Bryant-Denny Stadium (Alabama), and Sanford Stadium (Georgia), so it’s due dates too. there is no. Those locations are great, but certainly not underestimated. Autzen will really get bigger because of the stadium, which will probably take 60,000 people.
But if I had to choose the most underrated one, I would need to choose Kinnik Stadium. It’s a really cool venue.
Joel Kratt shares his favourite golf course with an underrated CFB venue
Who do you think has it? SMU-Type season (will take part in the playoffs outside the top 25 preseason), and who has a FSU type season and is most likely to disappoint many people (the range FSU has done this year)? (Maybe not)? – @joeytheaker24
There are some excellent candidates who replicate what SMU and other sleeper teams did in 2024. First of all, I think Parity really has arrived in college football. And that’s great. Last year there were SMU, Indiana and Arizona. So SMU wasn’t the only one who had a surprising season. In fact, Arizona was chosen to finish last in the Big 12 before the season, while Indiana was chosen to finish second in the Big Ten. Of course, SMU was a few points away from winning the ACC in its first year.
There is no doubt that there will be such a team for next year. The diversification of talent in college football is greater than that of talent these days. But another reason is due to a serious imbalance in the schedule within the meeting due to the size of the league. You will get experienced teams that benefit from a proper schedule, and you will have another Indiana or SMU-like team next season.
There are a few candidates who can have an amazing year next season. Illinois could become a sleazy team next year. He has come out of his 10-win season and beat South Carolina in a bowl game. Quarterback Luke Altomy has returned across the offensive line. Bret Bielema-Ball works in Champaign. I have experience, but here’s the kicker. Meeting schedules are advantageous for Illinois. I think most people would say that Ohio, Pennsylvania, Oregon and Michigan are four schools that run the Big Ten. Well, Illinois doesn’t play three of those and hosts Ohio State. I think Illinois is Indiana or SMU next year.
I’m looking at Baylor with Big 12. You’ll get more hype than the Kenny Dillingham team did in Arizona this season, but Baylor can have a really solid year. The Bears turned it all around this past season 2-4, winning the final six games of the regular season and losing to LSU in the bowl game. Coach Dave Aranda, who has a great history of calling defensive play, returned to Baylor’s defensive play character last season. Quarterback Sawyer Robertson scored things later in the season, threw over 3,000 passing yards and over 30 touchdowns in total.
Regarding the FSU part of this question, I don’t think we’re going to see such a season again. I’ve never seen it before. There may be top 10 teams who don’t play well, but they rank this high for a reason, so it’s really hard to predict. If I think one of those teams is going to fall, I’ll put them in the rankings preemptively. Don’t forget that FSU is the first team to rank in the top 10 pre-season AP polls and lose 10 games in the season.
I had an argument with a friend who said that the same program wins every year and Nir is the end of college football. I refute that there was a 6-8 top program anytime in a year that could win [national championship]and Niru hasn’t changed that. Any thoughts? – @libermaniac11
I love this question but you’re missing some of it. Names, images, portraits (nils) and transfer portals promote equality in sports. I thought many teams from the past season could win the national championship. Obviously, Ohio State was a supernova and had a great roster to win the national championship.
But look at what you saw in the college football playoffs. Arizona took Texas to the brink. Notre Dame defeated Georgia. There were consecutive non-SEC championship winners, with Michigan and Ohio winning the crown. Oregon is the number one seed in the tournament and the West Coast team. Pennsylvania seems amazing. Notre Dame doesn’t go anywhere. SMU created CFP from nowhere. Indiana got a roster to make the postseason.
The key is, I think, in fact, they have more parity in sports than ever for two main reasons. If you’re a star player, you won’t be sitting anymore. In other words, you cannot stockpile it. If a player wants the most money possible through NIL, they must play and start. You never sit behind someone in a blue chip program. These programs cannot stock up on talent as before. Now there is more talent in the spectrum. The great program has gotten a little worse, and the good program has got a little better. You can see the boats being evenly located in the port, but I think there will be 15-17 teams that will win the national championship next year.
We are at the dawn of the golden age of college football. This is because many teams have a chance to win national titles. Nir has made college football better from a parity standpoint.
Joel Klatt is a lead college football game analyst at Fox Sports and a podcast host.”Joel Crattshaw.“Please follow him @joelklatt and Subscribe to “Joel Klatt Show” on YouTube.
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