Joel Klatt says UCLA has best chance to be first-time College Football Playoff team
What team that hasn’t made the College Football Playoff yet has the best chance to make it in this season? Joel Klatt says it’s UCLA.
“Watch out for the Bruins,” the FOX Sports analyst said this week on The Joel Klatt Show. “I’m not even telling you this is a likely scenario, I’m just saying of the teams that have not made the Playoff yet, the most likely path is UCLA.
“UCLA first and foremost is very balanced. Chip Kelly has done a heck of a job. Dorian Thompson-Robinson is playing at a borderline Heisman level, maybe Pac-12 Player of the Year level. His experience has materialized into efficient play. He’s throwing the ball well, he’s making plays with his feet. It’s a team that can run it really well with Zach Charbonnet. … They throw it well. They throw it efficiently. They’re good up front. They’re really good up front.”
According to @joelklatt, @UCLAFootball has the best chance to make the CFP for the first time this season 👀🏆
(via @JoelKlattShow)pic.twitter.com/5lBgju0dnm
— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) October 12, 2022
Earlier this week, Klatt said he liked UCLA as the team most likely to win the Pac-12 because of the Bruins’ lack of a critical weakness. Unlike USC (run defense), Klatt argued there just aren’t a ton of pain points you can try and attack with this UCLA team.
The Bruins are No. 1 in the Pac-12 in yards per play allowed (4.9), pacing the league in both yards per run and pass allowed. They have the third-most takeaways of any Pac-12 team, the fourth-most sacks, and the fourth-most tackles for loss. Laiatu Latu ranks second nationally in sacks with 6.5. Grayson Murphy is seventh nationally in total quarterback pressures (per Pro Football Focus).
On offense, the Bruins have the most efficient passing game in the Pac-12 (9.2 yards per play) and the second-most efficient run game (5.5 yards). They’re in a class with Alabama as the only Power Five teams to lead their respective conferences in both offensive and defensive efficiency.
Klatt points out that UCLA is the only team to handle Utah since quarterback Cameron Rising took over for the Utes. He likes the Utes, and he was thoroughly impressed by UCLA taking control of the Pac-12 by beating the defending champs 42-32 last Saturday.
That set the Bruins up at 6-0 heading into the bye week and No. 11 in the latest AP Top 25.
“Nothing scares me all that much,” Klatt said of the remaining schedule. “I know Oregon is a good football team, and (UCLA) might lose. I’m not even saying that this is imminent, that they’re gonna be a Playoff-caliber team or even that they’re gonna play for the Pac-12 championship. But I am telling you that of these teams that have not made the Playoff, it’s the most likely and plausible path that I can create.
“Nothing scares me on their schedule, and in particular USC (doesn’t). I think they’ve got the best chance of any of these teams to go undefeated and win their conference and at that point, they’re going to the Playoff.”
Quite the statement.
After struggling to open the Kelly era in Westwood, the Bruins have some serious momentum. They’ve won nine straight games dating back to last season, and it sounds like the bandwagon is filling up.
UCLA travels to Eugene, Oregon next Saturday for a matchup with the 5-1 Oregon Ducks. After that, all eyes turn to Nov. 19 and a date with USC at the Rose Bowl.