3 things Joel Klatt got right, 3 he got wrong in early 2025 college football rankings

I appreciate the effort. It is anyone's guess who will be the top-10 teams in the country to start next college football season. We have all offseason to rack our brains around who is the best and who is not. Around the same time I put together my way-too-early College Football Playoff bracket, FOX Sports' Joel Klatt put forth his way-too-early top 10 for the upcoming season. I have some thoughts...

For the most part, there is not too much to lose one's head over regarding Klatt's top 10. He has traditional powers everywhere scattered at the top of his list. While he may end up being right, keep in mind this one very important thing. Since there are now Big 12 or Group of Five teams listed, this means that every team in his top 10 is a projected College Football Playoff team in Klatt's estimation.

For those who want a visual right here, these is Klatt's way-too-early top 10 for the 2025 season.

1. Penn State Nittany Lions
2. Texas Longhorns
3. Ohio State Buckeyes
4. Georgia Bulldogs
5. Oregon Ducks
6. Notre Dame Fighting Irish
7. Clemson Tigers
8. Miami Hurricanes
9. LSU Tigers
10. Michigan Wolverines

The teams Klatt has ranked No. 1-7 all made the playoff last year in Penn State, Texas, Ohio State, Georgia, Oregon, Notre Dame and Clemson. I have all seven of them in my playoff field in the way-too-early stages of the offseason. What I want to do today is argue what teams he got the most right, and where he was the most wrong. I am only going to discuss teams Klatt believes to be top-10-caliber.

Here is the entire episode of The Joel Klatt Show where he shares his way-too-early top 10 for 2025.

Here are the three teams in Klatt's top-10 he got the most right, and the three he got the most wrong.

Joel Klatt is way too high on the Miami Hurricanes at No. 8

The addition of sixth-year senior Carson Beck intrigues me, not just from a Georgia rooting standpoint, but from Miami being a viable playoff contender. Right now, I have the Hurricanes in a cluster of teams with Georgia Tech, Louisville and I guess SMU looking up at Clemson in the ACC. While I think Miami's offense will remain high-octane, I worry if their defense is going to level up.

Klatt had Miami at No. 8, which means the Hurricanes would be the No. 10 seed to account for Clemson getting the No. 3 seed and either the Big 12 or Group of Five winner getting the No. 4 seed. At this time, I do not even have Miami as one of the first four teams out. The Hurricanes are a top-25 team for sure, but I cannot for certain say they are better than the 16th best team in the country now.

I could be totally proven wrong about Miami, but this was a team I had winning the ACC last season.

Joel Klatt got the Georgia Bulldogs at No. 4 just right

Georgia is one of a handful way-too-early College Football Playoff locks. This may be my alma mater and the team I root for, but I would have Ohio State, Penn State and Texas all ranked ahead of them in some order. That feels about right. I have the Dawgs seeded sixth in my way-too-early playoff bracket as the second-best at-large team with the Big Ten Championship Game loser getting the No. 5 seed.

Even if Georgia loses a lot of talent to the NFL Draft, especially on defense. This is when recruiting at a top-five level annually pays off. It is why teams like Georgia, Ohio State, Oregon and Texas are going to be playoff locks more years than not from the start. Gunner Stockton may have a learning curve, but I envision the Georgia offense being centered around what he can do the best moving forward.

I am not picking Georgia to win the national championship next year, but I have them in the playoff.

Joel Klatt is way too high on the Penn State Nittany Lions at No. 1

This is not really a slight on Penn State, but rather a statement of fact. Under James Franklin, Penn State has gotten its teeth kicked in more often than not by Ohio State, and usually by Michigan as well. The fact Franklin's teams struggle so much in the underdog role, especially when going up against a top-five team, I will have to wait until I see it before I put the Nittany Lions at the very top.

While they do retain key playmakers like Drew Allar, Kaytron Allen and Nicholas Singleton, their best players off last year's team in Abdul Carter and Tyler Warren entered the 2025 NFL Draft. Although getting Andy Kotelnicki back for another year as the offensive coordinator is huge, losing Tom Allen to the defensive coordinator role at Clemson is less than ideal for a serious national title contender.

I am good with Penn State being a top-four team to start, but starting out No. 1 is a bit rich for me.

Joel Klatt got the Texas Longhorns at No. 2 just right

It pains me to say this, but the Texas Longhorns are the early pick to win the SEC next year and get a top-two seed. While they really struggled with Georgia last year, I have a hard time seeing the Dawgs beating them twice again to win the SEC. The regular-season meeting may be Between the Hedges in Athens, but the allure of Arch Manning is all that some people can talk about regarding this wild sport.

Texas is as much of a playoff lock as Ohio State and Penn State are, even more so than teams that I think are making the field in Clemson, Georgia, Oregon and Tennessee. The talent is there in Austin, and so is the winning. It is all about finally putting it together. It is why I have Steve Sarkisian as the next college football head coach to win his first national title. There is a chance it happens this year.

Texas is firmly a top-three team heading into next season, but the Longhorns may be closer to No. 1.

Joel Klatt is way too high on the Michigan Wolverines at No. 10

At the end of the day, I do not trust the Michigan Wolverines. While I do think they will be markedly better in year two under Sherrone Moore because they will actually have a quarterback who can throw the football downfield, I have trepidation about them even being good enough to take Indiana's spot as the fourth playoff team in out of the Big Ten. It will be close, but it will probably be no cigar.

The year for me to be bullish on Michigan may not come until 2026. In the meantime, I have them in a similar group with teams like Miami and Kansas State. These are teams that I think are playoff contenders, but it is more likely than not that they will not make the playoff. I think there are other candidates to get one of the last at-large spots into the playoff. Klatt has them in as the No. 11 seed.

Michigan may have a bounce-back season under Moore, but he has yet to prove he is Jim Harbaugh.

Joel Klatt got the Clemson Tigers at No. 7 just right

The team that Joel Klatt got the most right would be the Clemson Tigers at No. 7. They are seen as the presumptive favorite to win the ACC again. They would be slotted into the No. 3 seed, based on who Klatt has in his top 10. Clemson has a serious Heisman Trophy contender in Cade Klubnik at quarterback. Upgrading from Wes Goodwin to Tom Allen as defensive coordinator is a huge plus, too.

While Clemson could end up being this year's version of Oregon where they are good, but slightly unproven, enough to the point where I do not trust them to win an elimination game, I have everybody else in the ACC looking up at them. The Tigers are not as much of a lock to make the playoff as Georgia, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Oregon and Texas, but they are in that next group of teams for sure.

If the ACC gets multiple teams in again next year, Clemson would once again have to be one of them.