Joel Klatt Argues College Football Playoff Berth Not Enough For Penn State

The College Football Playoff is drastically changing its format for the 2024 season. Previously, it included only four teams. This season will have 12 teams, allowing even more teams to participate.

With 12 teams now involved, the playoff will include first-round matchups, quarterfinal games, the semifinals and the national championship. The contest will start on Dec. 20 and finish on Jan. 20, 2025.

A recent episode of "The Joel Klatt Show" discussed how a team like the Penn State Nittany Lions can now define success through the 12-team playoff. Joel Klatt said that no one has been hurt more by the four-team format.

However, Klatt was unsure that a successful season for Penn State would involve simply making the playoff. He mentioned how the Nittany Lions would have six playoffs in the last eight seasons.

Penn State was ranked tenth heading into championship weekend last season. The program's rank after the 2022 season was seventh. The Nittany Lions also finished the season ranked ninth in 2019 and eighth in 2017.

"...I'm not going to allow them to fall into the trap that a berth in the College Football Playoff is somehow a step forward in a 12-team format," Klatt said. "The last eight years, they would have made six playoffs. But here's the problem: their average rank in those playoffs would have been nine and a half. So, you can make an argument that just going to the playoff is stagnant."

Klatt explained his stance by mentioning just how much talent Penn State has this season on both sides of the ball. Penn State returns former members of the 2022 class like quarterback Drew Allar, running backs Kaytron Allen and Nicholas Singleton and linebacker Abdul Carter. The program also added former Kansas Jayhawks offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki for the same position at Penn State.

"Are they really any better if they just go to the playoff?" Klatt pondered. "Because haven't they been that for the last six out of eight years? The answer is yes, and this year at Penn State, this is a year that they've been pointing to. This recruiting class of Drew Allar, Nick Singleton, Kaytron Allen, Abdul Carter. They are supposed to be top-tier talent, and they are getting Andy Kotelnicki to be the offensive coordinator from Kansas."

Penn State opens the season with the West Virginia Mountaineers on Aug. 31. Kickoff will be at Noon ET on FOX.

Related: Joel Klatt Says He's 'High On' This Historic College Football Program In 2024