Joel Klatt on Michigan: The best team won the National Championship

Fox Sports’ Joel Klatt made it known Michigan was the best team all year and deserved to win the College Football Playoff National Championship.

This was not a case of an underdog squad upsetting some other teams along the way. Michigan was the best team week in and week out, according to Klatt.

That much was proven in a 34-13 win over Washington to win the title and cap a 15-0 season.

“When everything came together, what ended up being the product was the best team in college football and not just because they won the national championship, but because they were the most consistent, the most dominant, the most physical team all year long,” Klatt said on his podcast.

“So the best team won the national championship this year. And I don’t think that there’s any doubt about that. Now you can make an argument and I think some probably would, because people like to argue this at their best maybe, you know, Georgia because of just their overall talent level, you know, maybe Georgia. But the problem is that they didn’t play their best every single week. In fact, Georgia was incredibly up and down, and because of that they got beat and you can’t say that about Michigan.” 

Klatt made the argument that being the best team in college football is just that, the best collection of players that gets it done.

Sure, JJ McCarthy was solid under center, but he was not the best quarterback in the country. Blake Corum could’ve been the best running back but the Wolverines didn’t have the best wide receivers nationwide.

The defense was one of the best with guys like Mike Sainristil and Mason Graham. But add it all together? That’s the best team.

“College football is still not directly about the quarterback,” Klatt said. “If that was the case then Michael Penix of Washington would have won the game. In college football the most important unit on the field to win the national championship is currently the defensive line. The best defensive line in college football for the last three years has won the national championship. They just destroy everybody at the line of scrimmage.” 

It was a collective effort for Michigan, but the defensive line is where the Wolverines made their bread and butter.

“That’s the strength of the team,” Klatt said. “And now again, the defensive line wins the national championship … 300 yards rushing, the defensive line was dominant. And that’s a team that I gotta tell you, I doubt many teams could line up with what Michigan had this year. Not many teams could line up with them.”