Joel Klatt Makes Questionable Decision to Put One Team Above Texas in Preseason Top 25

Joel Klatt Makes Questionable Decision to Put One Team Above Texas in Preseason Top 25 originally appeared on Athlon Sports.

The Texas Longhorns have had as much offseason hype as anyone ahead of the 2025 college football season.

However, it was not enough for Joel Klatt to put them at No. 1 in his preseason top 25 on a recent edition of "The Joel Klatt Show."

The Longhorns were No. 2 behind the Penn State Nittany Lions in his poll. Both Texas and Penn State saw their seasons end in the semifinal of the 12-team College Football Playoff last season.

The Nittany Lions lost to the Notre Dame Fighting Irish 27-24.

Klatt justified his pick by stating how much experience Penn State returned on both sides of the ball.

"I'm huge on blueprints, folks," Klatt said. "You know this, and in the last two years, we have seen the blueprint that goes out there and wins the national championship. That is an experienced team with an experienced quarterback with a lot of guys that come back."

The decision was a puzzling one by Klatt, considering the amount of praise he has given Texas and Arch Manning in the offseason. He even compared Manning to former Clemson Tigers quarterback Trevor Lawrence, who now plays in the NFL for the Jacksonville Jaguars.

On top of returning Manning, the Longhorns also bring back top talent like edge rusher Colin Simmons, linebacker Anthony Hill Jr. and cornerback Malik Muhammad.

Texas' 2024 season ended with a 28-14 loss to the Ohio State Buckeyes, who are its season opener for the 2025 season.

Klatt declared that game as the first start of the Arch era in Austin. Kickoff is on August 30 in Columbus at Noon ET on Fox.

Related: Joel Klatt Makes Steve Sarkisian Admission Ahead of 2025 Season

This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Aug 5, 2025, where it first appeared.