Joel Klatt Declares Which Big 12 Program Has 'Toughest Place To Play'

Fox Sports analyst Joel Klatt knew he would ruffle feathers in the Big 12 when he made a very bold statement about one of its newcomers.

The altered Big 12 says goodbye to Texas and Oklahoma but welcomes Arizona, Arizona State, Utah, and Colorado. All four squads have interesting quirks as they join the conference, but Utah provides the biggest challenge, per Klatt.

Now that the Utes are part of the Big 12, he believes there's no tougher place to play in the new version of the league than Salt Lake City, as he said in his recent YouTube video.

"I know the Big 12 teams are not going to want to hear this, and I understand that some of those places are tough to play in," Klatt said. "Salt Lake City and Utah is now the toughest place to play in the Big 12, period. Period."

Without the behemoth Texas and Oklahoma stadiums, Rice-Eccles Stadium and its 50,000+ strong screamin' Utes fans pose one of the greater threats in the conference on paper. And when the lights do come on, Klatt says it's the top environment.

"That home-field advantage is real. They are incredible at home," Klatt stated.

That's no lie. Since the start of the 2020s decade, Utah has only lost two home games in five seasons — once in the COVID-altered '20 season to a 20th-ranked USC squad and then this past year to a top-10 Oregon team.

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