Joel Klatt explains why he likes LSU over Florida State

Ahead of the biggest matchup of the Week 1 college football slate, Fox Sports analyst Joel Klatt made a strong stance on who he believes will come out on top.

The LSU Tigers are looking for revenge after losing in narrow and heartbreaking fashion to Florida State a year ago in New Orleans. This time, the teams meet on the other side of The Gulf in Orlando for a rematch and each enter the season with much more pedigree than they did a year ago.

On his YouTube show this week, Klatt explained that he thinks the Tigers will be motivated to get one back on the Seminoles after how things ended last September.

“This one, I have put my flag in the ground and say that I believe that LSU is the better team,” said Klatt, who thinks the Tigers were the superior side a year ago too, even though they lost.

“Remember, they were the better team a year ago. The six-game winning streak that Florida State had late last year was against a lot of bad football teams, very average football teams. And while I like Florida State, I just don’t think that they’re better than LSU.”

Obviously the Tigers return many of their top stars, but Joel Klatt believes the additions in the portal really give LSU a boost compared to last year.

“LSU did a heck of a job in the transfer portal. They’ve gotten better, they got deeper,” he said.

After winning the SEC West in Year One with Kelly, Klatt only sees an upward trajectory in the second go-around.

“It’s now Brian Kelly’s second year, he’s got his quarterback for a second year. They’re not going to make those silly mistakes that they made in the opener a year ago against Florida State which allowed Florida State to go out there and win that game. LSU is a really good football team,” Klatt said.

“They’re going to have a lot to say in that SEC West, even with an Alabama team that I think is very good. Remember, they won the West a year ago. This is a quarterback that I believe in, a coach that I believe in, and I like LSU in this game.”

For the gamblers amongst us, Klatt says he’d sprinkle a bit on the Tigers to win and cover the small spread vs. the ‘Noles.

“They’re favored by 2.5. They should be favored. I believe they cover that and win by a score and beat Florida State in the opening week,” Klatt added.