Joel Klatt shakes up Top 10 after upset-filled Week 2

Week 2 was a wild one across college football as two top-10 teams fell to unranked, Sun Belt opponents. As a result, FOX Sports analyst Joel Klatt shook up his Top 10 — and it featured a surprising new entry.

Alabama, which came in at No. 1 in Klatt’s top 10 last week, dropped to No. 3 as Georgia and Ohio State jumped ahead of the Crimson Tide. USC also moved into the top five while Texas, which is No. 21 in the latest AP Top 25, moved into No. 10 in Klatt’s rankings.

CLICK HERE to subscribe for FREE to the On3 YouTube channel

Here is his full Top 10, as revealed on “Breaking the Huddle with Joel Klatt” on Wednesday:

1. Georgia
2. Ohio State
3. Alabama
4. Michigan
5. USC
6. Clemson
7. Oklahoma
8. Michigan State
9. Oklahoma State
10. Texas

Joel Klatt explains decision to drop Alabama to No. 3 in latest Top 10

Alabama, which also fell to No. 2 in the AP Top 25, struggled against Texas last week in its one-point victory. Klatt said he has some concerns about the Crimson Tide, notably along the offensive line. While Bryce Young showed up when called upon, he said the running game will need to improve — and it starts up front.

“Alabama, they’re still really good and I understand that they didn’t play great in that game against Texas, but remember, when their best was needed, Bryce Young showed up and basically put a cape on his back,” Klatt said. “Bryce Young was 15 of 19 for 136 yards in the fourth quarter, so when they needed his best, man, he was there. There [are] some concerns, yes, for Bama — namely, that offensive line. They were unable to run the football.

“They had the 81-yard touchdown run and outside of that, the running backs didn’t really do anything. … So they’ve got to get better running the football and then the wide receivers have got to develop. They were not getting open, they couldn’t take the top off the defense, but you get the sense like, folks, it is still Nick Saban. He adjusts and evolves as well as anybody. You would get the sense that this team is going to be just fine. it just didn’t look great. The bottom line for them, they got the win, one point, in Austin. Bryce Young was brilliant.”

Klatt: ‘USC is almost identical to even the Playoff teams at Oklahoma’

USC also made a jump, going from No. 8 to No. 5. When he explained why, Klatt put the Trojans in a similar category as one of Riley’s most impressive Oklahoma teams. USC is averaging 53.5 points per game through two games against Rice and Stanford, and Klatt said Riley’s group this year is the real deal.

“If you look at the numbers, USC is almost identical to even the playoff teams at Oklahoma,” Klatt said. “If you look at their yards per play — both defensively and offensively — they’re actually better than the 2018 Oklahoma Sooners that went to a Playoff with Kyler Murray. … Lots of numbers to tell you this is a blueprint that could absolutely wind up in the College Football Playoff.

“Lincoln Riley has been doing this for years. So watch out with that schedule, with Notre Dame down, with the fact that Utah struggled against a mobile quarterback in Anthony Richardson. This could be your favorite not only in the Pac-12, but also to get to the Playoff. Just keep that in your back pocket.”

Klatt: Throw out the preseason rankings when talking about Texas

At one point, Texas looked like it was going to beat Alabama at DKR Texas Memorial Stadium in Week 2. Although the Longhorns couldn’t pull it off, Klatt — who was calling the game alongside Gus Johnson — said he saw enough from them to put them in the Top 10. But they still have question marks, notably at quarterback with Quinn Ewers out for a few weeks.

“You’re thinking to yourself, ‘Joel, that’s odd,'” Klatt said. “If you didn’t look at the preseason rankings and just evaluated what went on on the football field, Texas would still probably be in your top 10. They are for me, and particular after being down there. This team felt a lot different than they have over the last 10 years and not just because they’ve got good players. Yes, they do. It’s just their whole mentality and the fact that they’re that much more enamored with the chase rather than the capture.

“For 10 years, it’s been about, ‘Are they back?’ Are they at the destination? And they never focused on the chase. It was always about the capture, never the chase. Now, it’s more about the chase. They’re talented, they’re much better. Granted, they got their quarterback situation to figure out here in the next couple of weeks. But that’s a really good football team that I think could wind up in Arlington in a Big 12 Championship game later in the season.”