FOX Sports analyst Joel Klatt breaks down SEC’s 3 front-runners, details why each team stands out
By Sydney Hunte
Published:
On Sunday, Joel Klatt unveiled his top 10 college football teams after the weekend’s games, which saw Alabama at No. 3, Georgia at No. 4 and Florida at No. 5. On Tuesday, he broke down why those teams help establish the SEC’s dominance.
“Those three teams are great football teams, and a great reason why they will be the best conference in college football,” the FOX college football analyst said. “I think that the Big Ten is going to be very good…but I don’t think they are going to be quite as deep at the top as the SEC with Alabama, Florida and Georgia.”
Klatt began with Alabama, who he said looked “absolutely sensational”.
“It should be noted that (Alabama under) Nick Saban was never a quarterback-driven program, and yet he was still winning national championships,” he said. “He focused on defense, the run game, and he had serviceable quarterbacks, and they were winning national championships.
“Then Tua (Tagovailoa) comes along and it’s like ‘Wow, look at Bama with a great quarterback,’ and they took this next step. They joined the modern college football in that they could play great defense and yet, they could win a shootout. And that remains to be true even as Tua has left.”
Klatt went on to say that he didn’t feel that incumbent QB Mac Jones was a “great player”, but did concede that the junior was “playing great football”, bringing up players like DeVonta Smith and Jaylen Waddle that have provided the receiving ability Jones needs to be successful.
As for Georgia, Klatt raved about the Bulldogs’ win against Auburn on Saturday.
“Georgia handed it to the Auburn Tigers. Their defense was sensational,” he said. “This is an incredibly talented team that is unbelievable on the defensive side, they’re a great running team, and they should be able to overcome their quarterback.”
Finally, Klatt mentioned Florida, specifically its quarterback-tight end tandem of Kyle Trask and Kyle Pitts, while casting an eye to the annual Florida-Georgia game in Jacksonville that could decide the SEC East.
“(Pitts) might be the best player in the country,” he said. “Trask has been unbelievable, and I can’t wait to see that showdown, Florida and Georgia…winner likely finds themselves in the SEC Championship Game.”
You can watch the full video below.
"I think that the Big Ten is going to be very good… but I don't think they are going to be quite as deep at the top as the @SEC is with @AlabamaFTBL, @GatorsFB and @GeorgiaFootball."@joelklatt breaks down his top 10 teams heading into Week 6 ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/TE9c1Kawpf
— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) October 6, 2020
Sydney is an Atlanta-based journalist who has covered everything from SEC and ACC football to MLS, the U.S. men's national soccer team and professional tennis. His work has appeared on such platforms as SB Nation, Cox Media Group and FanSided.
