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WATCH: Joel Klatt reveals his ‘Way Too Early’ Top 10 for 2018

Dustin Schutte

By Dustin Schutte

Published:

Bowl season is in its infancy. We haven’t even started the College Football Playoff. We have no clue what’s going to happen over the course of the next month in remaining postseason or how recruiting will finish up.

That didn’t stop Fox Sports college football analyst Joel Klatt from looking ahead to the 2018 season, though.

Klatt recently unveiled his “Way Too Early Top 10” for 2018, which included three teams out of the B1G. That was more teams than any other conference in the analyst’s top 10. Here’s how his early rankings looked:

  • 1. Alabama
  • 2. Clemson
  • 3. Michigan
  • 4. Miami
  • 5. Ohio State
  • 6. Georgia
  • 7. Oklahoma
  • 8. USC
  • 9. Stanford
  • 10. Michigan State

Just a few interesting takeaways from those rankings.

Michigan comes in at No. 3 despite an 8-4 year and a fourth-place finish in the B1G East. Klatt has always been high on the Wolverines and predicted Jim Harbaugh to lead his team to 10 wins this season. But with Shea Patterson in the mix, another solid recruiting class and several returning players, it’s clear that Klatt believes Michigan can compete for a national title.

Ohio State comes in at No. 5, nothing to crazy about that. The Buckeyes are bringing in a top 3 recruiting class and finished the year 11-2 with a B1G title. Michigan State at No. 10 is a bit interesting, too, but after an incredible turnaround from 2016, the Spartans should a factor in the conference race.

Here’s the video of Klatt’s rankings and his explanation behind each selection.

Dustin Schutte

Dustin grew up in the heart of Big Ten country and has been in sports media since 2010. He has been covering Big Ten football since 2014. You can follow him on Twitter: @SchutteCFB