Joel Klatt picks Georgia to win, cover vs. Texas

There is plenty on the line when the Texas Longhorns travel to Athens to take on the Georgia Bulldogs this Saturday. That includes implications relating not just to the SEC race but to the College Football Playoff race.

Ahead of the game, analyst Joel Klatt broke down the game. On The Joel Klatt Show, he emphasized his trust in Georgia, picking them not just to win but to cover a 5.5-point spread.

“But Texas, in general, is a team that, let’s face it, we haven’t seen a complete game from them,” Klatt said. “If we’re really being honest with ourselves, don’t we know, deep down, that it’s going to take a complete game from any team to beat Georgia in Athens? It’s what it took from Alabama. They played one of the great halves of football that we’ve seen so far in the college football season in that win over Georgia in Athens. Ty Simpson was amazing in that game.”

Coming into the game, both Georgia and Texas have one SEC loss and have a shot, if Alabama and Texas A&M take losses, of making it to the SEC Championship Game. So, earning that tiebreaker over one another is massive. More importantly, especially for two-loss Texas, is how it helps a CFP resume. It’s a massive ranked win for one side or the other. For Texas, it would also be a third loss, which seems like a steep hill to overcome.

“So, you have to believe that Arch [Manning], at some point, would have to go otherworldly and play the best football that he’s played in his career for Texas to win this game,” Klatt said. “You see, if you just boil this down to trust, let’s really talk honestly about this. Which team do you trust in this game?”

Ultimately, for Klatt, it’s a matter of trust. The simple truth is that he trusts Georgia to play a full 60 minutes, particularly at home, compared to Texas.

“That’s not a hard question to answer. I trust Georgia. That doesn’t mean that it’s always pretty and that doesn’t mean that it’s always dominant, but I trust Georgia,” Klatt said. “I trust that they know how to win. I trust that they can do different things to win, whether it’s throwing it against Tennessee, playing quality defense at times, running it well, at times. I trust that, situationally, they know what they’re doing, like they did against Florida. I don’t trust this Texas team because we haven’t even seen them put together a full 60 minutes. Even their win against Oklahoma, as impressive as that was, there were moments where, offensively, it just wasn’t clicking.

“So, it comes down to faith. Do I have faith that Texas is going to all of a sudden put something together that I have not seen from them yet this season? I have not seen evidence that Texas can go in and beat Georgia, and I don’t think that they’re going to all of a sudden do that. Athens is as tough as it gets. Texas on the road this season has not been good. Two losses. Two overtime wins. I know they’ve got the neutral site against OU, but they’ve been able to overcome poor performances and still win the game. They will not be able to do that on the road against Georgia.”

Kickoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. EST on Saturday. There, Klatt is predicting Georgia wins by a touchdown. That would also amount to covering the spread for this one.

“I’m taking Georgia in this one,” Klatt said. “Georgia wins this one 31-24. They cover the 5.5. Bulldogs basically solidify their spot in the College Football Playoff and give Texas their third loss.”

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