Joel Klatt Locks In Prediction For College Football Playoff National Championship

At the conclusion of his preseason top-25 rankings for the 2024 college football season, Fox Sports analyst Joel Klatt threw out the two schools he expects to compete for the national title in the first year of the new College Football Playoff.

His No. 1 squad, by a nose , is Ohio State. They're followed by Georgia at No. 2, and Klatt sees a gap between those two and the rest of the country. Even though the Buckeyes barely topped the Bulldogs in his rankings, there's tremendous respect for both programs from Klatt.

"I can just tell you right now these two teams are upper echelon. They are my favorites," he declared. "I feel like they’re going to face off in the national championship game, and I hope that they do because that’s a game that I would love to see."

Klatt continued with his Georgia love, even declaring Kirby Smart the new top dog in college football.

"Georgia is excellent. Carson Beck is such a good player. They’ve won 46 of their last 48 games which is just insane. Kirby Smart is right now the best coach in college football as Nick Sabin rides off into the Sunset."

A great coach, a great quarterback, and a great roster mean Georgia can once again compete for a title.

"Kirby Smart is the best coach in college football," Klatt continued. "They’ll have a Heisman-caliber quarterback to go with a defense that should be really good, as they are always. This is absolutely a playoff team."

Meanwhile, Ohio State takes the top overall spot in Joel Klatt's rankings, and you can see why the Buckeyes got the edge over Georgia. His full top-25 rankings are just below.

Related: Joel Klatt Reveals Why Georgia’s Not No. 1 in Preseason College Football Rankings

Related: Joel Klatt Reveals Preseason Top-25 College Football Rankings