Joel Klatt Makes His Pick For Notre Dame vs. Penn State On Thursday
01/07/2025 12:26 PM
We're just over 48 hours away from the big Orange Bowl game between Notre Dame and Penn State with the winner heading to the national championship game.
Notre Dame stunned the football world by not just beating the SEC champion Georgia Bulldogs, but thoroughly dominating them on both sides of the ball in a 23-10 win. Penn State, meanwhile, have enjoyed blowout wins over SMU and Boise State that were rarely close at all.
Heading into the game, Fox Sports college football analyst Joel Klatt gave his thoughts on the matchup. On the latest episode of The Joel Klatt Show, Klatt made his pick to win the game. He initially started by breaking down the coaching, and quickly asserted that he trusts Notre Dame's Marcus Freeman over Penn State's James Franklin.
"I think both of these guys are very good coaches," Klatt said. "And I would just say this like I think that ultimately it comes down to, from a picks perspective, who do you trust? And after the Northern Illinois loss, I trust Marcus Freeman. Situationally, Notre Dame is very sound. Look at the way they executed that punt to offense, getting the offside, like situationally, this team understands how to perform and execute.
"They also know who they are and lean into that blueprint defensively and offensively. They know what they are offensively, and they don't generally veer outside of that."
Klatt then made the case that Notre Dame is less likely to make the game-breaking mistakes than Penn State is.
"That's the one question I have about Penn State," Klatt said. "And this is why I trust Notre Dame just a little bit more. From Penn State's perspective, I love this team. This is a really, really good team that, at times, can get in their own way in these games. Think about it. Now, they had first and goal inside the 10 yard line against Ohio State in the fourth quarter in order to go in and tie that game. And all of a sudden, the guy who got them down there didn't touch the football, in Tyler Warren, did they learn their lesson?
"Didn't seem like they did when all of a sudden, against Boise State, Kaytron Allen is the one going off. They're going to run the football for 300 yards, if Kaytron Allen is just going to continue to get that outside zone carry. And they went away from it and became a pass first team against Boise State that has more sacks than anybody in the country."
Ultimately, Klatt decided that he's going with the Fighting Irish in a 24-20 win over the Nittany Lions.
"I don't know if Penn State has learned a lesson," Klatt said. "Why have they not had the tipping point victory? Because of things like this. Because you can't overcome yourself and the opponents all the time in these games. You've got to play it correctly. So I'm going to trust Notre Dame in this game. I think it's going to be tight. I think that Notre Dame wins 24-20, I think they cover the 1.5, it's somewhat low scoring, I think it's going to be a great game, and I can't wait for it."
The winner of the Orange Bowl will take on either Texas or Ohio State in the national championship game later this month.
Related: Penn State's Official Twitter Account Hilariously Trolls Notre Dame About "Rudy"
