Joel Klatt: Oregon is a national championship caliber team
Oregon has put themselves right in the midst of a hunt for this season’s national championship with what they’ve done in eight games. Joel Klatt believes as much too based on the kind of mark that the Ducks have left on him.
Klatt was in awe of No. 6 Oregon after calling their 29-point win over Utah in Salt Lake City on Saturday. As he said on his show on Monday, the contest with the Utes wasn’t even as close as a near 30-point win would suggest as he saw it as dominant from start to finish.
“Oregon handled that Utah team – 35-6. It wasn’t close and it wasn’t really close from the beginning,” said Klatt. “I come away from that game thoroughly impressed with Oregon.”
“I come away from that game thoroughly impressed with, basically, everything that Oregon does,” said Klatt.
One of the main reasons that Klatt is so high on the Ducks is because of their leader in Dan Lanning. As he continued, he had nothing but high regard and praise for Lanning based on what he has done so far and what Klatt thinks he could eventually do one day.
“What Dan Lanning has done, what he has organized there, and what he has built, and is building, in a year and a half is really impressive,” Klatt stated. “I love meeting with Dan Lanning. I’ve gotten to do it twice now. We did that Holiday Bowl a year ago when they faced North Carolina, got that win. And then now in this game. Each meeting was terrific. He’s laser focused and you can tell he knows exactly what he’s doing. For a young guy that is doing it for the first time? Dan Lanning is one of the best young coaches that I’ve ever sat down with. I’m thoroughly impressed with him.”
“It’s so clear that he has seen what it takes to get to the mountaintop,” Klatt continued. “He’s not married to some philosophy or cut his teeth under some philosophy that has made him successful but not the team successful. He cut his teeth and he grew up in places where they won championships. So he has seen the blueprint and he’s putting that in place.”
That’s why, as we get into November, Klatt has Oregon so high on his list. He thinks they have all that it takes to not only win a title in the Pac-12 but also come away as the winner of this year’s College Football Playoff.
“Of the teams that I’ve seen live this year? They are in the top two,” said Klatt. “Oregon is really good.”
“They have everything that you need to be great. They have everything that you need to win a championship – and I’m not just talking about a Pac-12 Championship. I’m talking about a national championship,” Klatt said. “I think that’s the caliber of this team.”