Joel Klatt Explains How ‘Something Happened’ to Ohio State Before College Football Playoff
Since Ohio State’s 13-10 loss in their regular-season finale against rival Michigan, FOX analyst Joel Klatt believes “something happened” to the Buckeyes in that game.
“This team, psychologically, has totally changed. For the majority of the year, it looked like this team was going out there trying not to make mistakes, trying not to lose football games. That’s the way they played against Michigan; that’s the way they played against Nebraska.
“You started to see like small glimpses of a team that could play free and easy and really have a psychological anger to go out there and prove themselves. You saw that a little bit early in the Indiana game. Then the entirety against Tennessee, for the entirety against Oregon.”
In the first round of the College Football Playoff, No. 8 seed Ohio State jumped out to a 21-0 lead against No. 9 Tennessee, ending in a decisive 42-17 win over the Volunteers.
In the CFP quarterfinal, Ohio State reeled off 34 unanswered points to start the Rose Bowl against No. 1 Oregon. The Buckeyes went on to win 41-21.
Klatt continued discussing what’s changed with the Scarlet and Gray.
Joel Klatt with Ohio State mascot Brutus
© Joseph Cress/Iowa City Press-Citizen / USA TODAY NETWORK
“This team psychologically has totally changed. This is a team playing with something to prove, with the freedom of something to chase, rather than protect.
“Something happened in that Michigan game and it wasn’t just the schematics of the offense was broken. It was like the psyche of the old Buckeyes was broken, and now the psychological freedom and anger of this team has been unleashed on everybody that they play.”
In the upcoming Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic, No. 8 Ohio State plays No. 5 Texas on January 10. Despite being the lower seed, the Buckeyes opened as five-point favorites on ESPN BET, and the spread has widened to six points.
