Joel Klatt predicts an SEC team will likely be eliminated from Playoff contention originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
Texas is still clinging College Football Playoff hopes, but they’ll have to come up with some unbelievable wins. FOX Sports analyst Joel Klatt delivered a harsh prediction ahead of the Longhorns’ trip to Athens on Saturday.
Advertisement
On the latest “Joel Klatt Show,” he explained how expects the Bulldogs to not only win but do so in convincing fashion. A result that would all but eliminate Texas from Playoff contention.
Klatt broke down the season-long inconsistencies from Texas and argued they have yet to play a true wire-to-wire performance worthy of beating Georgia on the road.
“Texas, in general, is a team that we haven’t seen a complete game from,” Klatt said. “If we’re being honest, don’t we know deep down that it’s going to take a complete game from any team to beat Georgia in Athens?”
Both teams enter with one SEC loss, leaving the winner positioned for a potential path to the conference championship, if Alabama or Texas A&M falter in the final games. But the stakes are even higher for Texas; a third loss would effectively end its CFP pursuit. Especially given the loss in “The Swamp” to Florida.
Advertisement
Klatt also added that quarterback Arch Manning would likely need to be “otherworldly” for Texas to pull off the upset, which is a standard he has yet to show consistently.
“Which team do you trust in this game?” Klatt asked. “I trust Georgia. I trust that they know how to win. I don’t trust this Texas team because we haven’t seen them put together a full 60 minutes.”
With Texas shaky on the road and Georgia thriving after the loss to Alabama, Klatt believes the Longhorns won’t be able to overcome their familiar lapses. This could be one teaching moment for Manning as well.
“They will not be able to do that on the road against Georgia,” he said.
Advertisement
No. 10 Texas faces No. 5 Georgia in the SEC’s Game of the Week (7:30 p.m. ET, ABC).
