In his most recent podcast, Joel Klatt, a former quarterback for Colorado and the lead analyst for FOX’s Big Noon Kickoff broadcasts, had a slight jab at Penn State.
Joel Klatt was previewing the whole College Football Playoff bracket on Wednesday’s episode of The Joel Klatt Show, with a focus on the games that will be played in the first round this weekend.
He took a gamble as soon as he arrived to the No. 6 Penn State vs. No. 11 SMU game, which begins at noon on Saturday:
It’s shocking that you can perform a White Out at midday, Klatt added.
After a full nine seconds of pausing and drumming his notes on the desk, he resumed his analysis. He did, however, immediately express his admiration for the Beaver Stadium setting at Penn State and the Nittany Lions’ 2024 squad. He predicted that SMU would lose 34–12 to Penn State.
As soon as the selection process was finished, Penn State declared its first-ever CFP game as a White Out, despite the fact that it would take place at noon. The last time Beaver Stadium played Michigan at noon was in 2015. Instead of FOX, TNT will air on Saturday, but Klatt seized the chance.
FOX has been center stage this season in Happy Valley, carrying three noon kickoffs with Klatt and the rest of the Big Noon crew. Most importantly, though, that included the Ohio State game, which would have almost certainly been the White Out had it kicked off even at 3:30 p.m. rather than noon. Instead, Penn State played another lesser opponent in the annual spectacle, beating Washington 35-6.
Since the Big Ten struck a deal with FOX, NBC, and CBS in 2022, Penn State’s biggest game of the year has usually taken place at noon.A FOX employee has already alluded to the Penn State vs. Ohio State game next year starting at noon.
Klatt took to X near the end of the regular season to defend his company s staple. But that didn t and won t ease fans’ displeasure with Big Noon Kickoff. Klatt also got one more jab in there before moving on to the next game he analyzed on Wednesday s show.
In a noon White Out! Wait, what? I was told reliably that that couldn t happen, Klatt said. Lo and behold, here we are. Here we are. And good for you! You ve got a great environment. Love going to Penn State.
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