Gus Johnson, Joel Klatt take aim at CFP narratives, throw shade at SEC

While everyone kicked sand on Indiana and SMU, Fox’s Joel Klatt was one of the voices of dissent.

Given his position as Fox’s No. 1 color analyst, you might assume Klatt would align with Kirk Herbstreit and ESPN. Not because he’s an SEC apologist, but because this is the same Klatt who lambasted the College Football Playoff committee for a “horrendous job” with the bracket, accusing them of “manipulation” to shoehorn SMU in over Alabama.

But once the ball was spotted in South Bend last Friday night, Klatt transformed into one of the sport’s biggest cheerleaders. Taking a not-so-subtle jab at Herbstreit, Nick Saban and ESPN, the former Colorado Buffaloes quarterback called out the “partisan bias” shaping narratives on rival networks — narratives that made watching ESPN’s CFP coverage feel like a chore.

Klatt didn’t stop there. He threw shade at Lane Kiffin and reiterated his “incredible disappointment” in the commentary surrounding the CFP.

But by the time Klatt and Gus Johnson were on the mic for Syracuse’s 52-35 Holiday Bowl win over Washington State, the duo had embraced those criticisms and even expressed some envy for ESPN and TNT/Max’s playoff broadcasting setups.

Joel Klatt and Gus Johnson threw some shade at the SEC and weighed in on the CFP debate. pic.twitter.com/K9YrfRD1TI

— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) December 28, 2024

“I loved watching those games. I was so jealous,” Johnson admitted. “It was so exciting to watch this Playoff. I mean, incredible.”

“I loved it. I loved every minute of it,” said Klatt. “And, listen, home teams should win, right? I mean, the better teams got to host. [It’s] tough to win on the road in college football. What did we expect? Everyone making this like an indictment on the losing team(s). I’ll tell ya, the home teams played great. I thought it was fantastic. It was a great weekend of college football.”

Switch to another channel, though, and you might have heard a very different story.

“What I loved about it more than anything: SMU, Tennessee, had to go play in cold weather,” Johnson added. “SEC teams finally had to play a game in cold weather!”

“Yeah, how’d that work out for them?” quipped Klatt.

“I will tell you this, though: I knew Ohio State was going to run them out of the building when they ran out there with that fake toughness, with their shirts off, and started warming up. I was like, ‘Ahhhhh, Buckeyes got this.”

Klatt may have been among the few to stand up for Indiana and SMU, but a week later, he and Johnson were seemingly reveling in watching the establishment narratives crumble under the weight of their hubris.

[Awful Announcing on X]