Preseason rankings are always guaranteed to get college football fans fired up, good or bad. Fox Sports analyst Joel Klatt took to X on Monday to post his post-spring top 25, which certainly drew a reaction from fans nationwide.
Analyst Joel Klatt’s 2025 Post-Spring Top 25 Sends Fans Into a Frenzy
We’re a little over three months away from the first college game of 2025, but fan debates are already in mid-season form. The comment section on Klatt’s tweet is proof of that.
My Post-Spring Top 25 for 2025…Can’t wait! pic.twitter.com/gTTP7QjJSr
— Joel Klatt (@joelklatt) May 5, 2025
His top five teams were a sampling of Power Four schools but left SEC fans feeling slighted, and others pointed to a Big Ten bias from a Fox analyst. Here was the top five from Klatt:
- Penn State
- Texas
- Ohio State
- Oregon
- Clemson
As expected with any preseason ranking list, all these are under fire in the comment section. However, Penn State’s elevated ranking drew the most visceral responses.
In general, many commenters displayed fatigue with the expectations for the Nittany Lions.
Penn State better win it all this year I’m tired of hearing the hype.
— Dawg Muse 🏆 (@UGAFanatic0) May 5, 2025
Others were more pointed with their criticism and aimed specifically at Penn State head coach James Franklin.
You realize James Franklin still coaches Penn St, right?
— Blutarsky (@Blutarsky12) May 6, 2025
Franklin and his program have finished with double-digit wins in four of his last six seasons, but the big-game struggles have fans severely doubting them having a breakthrough in 2025. Despite many wins at the helm at Penn State, Franklin was just 3-19 against top 10 opponents in that time.
The enthusiasm in Happy Valley is high heading into 2025 due to a wealth of talent returning, particularly on the defensive side of the ball, and having seemingly addressed some key offensive questions through recruiting and the transfer portal. Still, they must prove on the field that they can consistently beat high-end talent in 2025.
Beyond that, some fans voiced frustration with potentially more talented rosters not getting love. According to an article on CBS Sports, there were three teams with two top-ten players: Ohio State, Clemson, and South Carolina. None of these teams were in the top two, and South Carolina didn’t even crack the top ten.
It’s hard to identify if there is coverage bias here or if Klatt, like some commenters suggested, is just looking for clickbait. Conversely, the outcry may be due to passionate fans feeling overlooked due to their own biases. More likely, this is just the nature of the beast when it comes to preseason rankings.
KEEP READING: Fans See the Signs As Penn State Turns Heads With Aggressive Push Toward National Championship
Whatever the cause, these debates will soon be settled on Saturdays in the fall, and we’re looking forward to it. At least we can all agree on that.
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