FOX’s Joel Klatt Says Nation’s Favorite SEC Team Is Overhyped, Leaves Star QB Out of Top Five: “Sloppy and Inconsistent”

Texas sits No. 1 in the AP Poll at 4-0. The resume is difficult to argue with. The Longhorns erased a 20-point fourth-quarter deficit to beat then-No. 1 Ohio State 24-23, then survived No. 14 Tennessee 20-17. ButJoel Klatt still isn’t buying the idea that they are the best team in college football.

“I think Texas is better on paper than they are on the field,” Joel Klatt said while appearing on The Next Round. “Their resume looks incredible, and as such, if you’re evaluating that, they probably should be number one in the country, but when you watch them, they are sloppy and inconsistent.”

Joel Klatt isn’t dismissing the Longhorns. Rather, he’s questioning whether they have played like a championship-caliber No. 1 for four straight games. Texas needed a remarkable fourth-quarter comeback to get past Ohio State. The FOX analyst believes the result depended on too many things breaking Texas’ way.

“You know, there’s a 5% chance that game goes the way that it did,” he said.

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His point was about how unusual the circumstances were. Joel Klatt argued that several plays could have swung the game back toward Ohio State, potentially turning the result into a comfortable Buckeye win.

“Outside of that, they were really sloppy against Tennessee and got away with it,” he added. “Didn’t play great against UTSA. Arch’s numbers are very pedestrian and average.”

Against Tennessee, Texas managed only 262 total yards and spent much of the afternoon fighting its own offensive rhythm. Arch Manning finished 14 of 19 passes for 201 yards. He didn’t score, but threw one interception and had six sacks. He was flagged twice for illegal forward pass infractions. That is not the statistical profile of a QB controlling a game.

Joel Klatt’s criticism of Arch Manning has become even sharper because the QB entered the season carrying enormous expectations, ranking No. 2 on his preseason QB list. But through four games, he managed just 862 passing yards, seven touchdowns and three interceptions. He has also gone below 200 passing yards in consecutive games.

Joel Klatt sees the problem as more than numbers. Arch Manning’s arm talent is obvious. The athletic ability is obvious. But being able to escape trouble and create something outside the structure of the offense is not the same thing as consistently controlling a defense from the pocket. And then came the ranking that probably got the most attention.

While discussing the SEC’s QBs, The Next Round hosts placed SEC QBs Keelon Russell (Auburn) and Trinidad Chambliss (LSU) at the top, with Kamario Taylor also in the top three. Gunner Stockton followed at Georgia, while Austin Simmons rounded out the group. Arch Manning wasn’t there. Joel Klatt agreed with the top three and essentially admitted he couldn’t find a convincing argument to squeeze the Longhorns into the group.

“I don’t know if it’s Arch,” he said. “But I don’t know who it is at that point.”

For a QB who began the season surrounded by Heisman hype, that is a pretty blunt reality check. Still, Texas doesn’t need to win the argument in October. It needs to keep winning football games. The Longhorns’ defense has given the offense plenty of room for error, and Steve Sarkisian has resisted putting everything on Arch Manning.

“We can’t just say, ‘Well, Arch needs to play better,’” he said. “A lot of guys need to play better.”

Texas has not suddenly become a bad team because its offense has sputtered. But its margin for error gets smaller against better opponents. The Longhorns just had a bye before facing Oklahoma on Oct. 10 in the Red River Rivalry. They have dominated that matchup recently, outscoring the Sooners 57-9 over the past two meetings. That is another chance for Texas to make Joel Klatt eat his words.

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