Joel Klatt blasts AP Poll voters for ranking of USC, Miami, Tennessee

Joel Klatt isn’t happy about this week’s AP Top 25. The FOX Sports analyst made that clear while reevaluating his expectations for Michigan in 2024 on his show Monday.

When looking ahead at the Wolverines’ upcoming schedule, which includes games against No. 11 USC, No. 9 Oregon and No. 3 Ohio State, Klatt veered off on a passionate tangent.

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“Now you’re staring at a USC team that looks like they are for real,” Klatt said, referencing Michigan’s Sept. 21 date with the 2-0 Trojans. “I put them in my top 10, and they deserve to be in the top 10.

“The AP voters are terrible. They just move them up and down. I’m sorry if you have an AP vote and you’re listening to this, I love you, I love your passion for the sport, [but] give me a break with what you gave us in the AP Poll. That was terrible.”

Klatt went on: “Like Tennessee and USC are clearly two of the best top-10 teams in the country, and so that’s where they should be. And you don’t have them there. And I think that that’s garbage. Miami as well. Miami as well.”

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In this week’s AP Poll, USC is No. 11, but Miami and Tennessee did in fact crack the top 10. Miami is No. 10, and Tennessee is No. 7. But it seems like Klatt still feels the Hurricanes and Volunteers are being overlooked by AP voters.

All three of those teams are off to great starts this season.

USC kicked things off with a win over then-No. 13 LSU in Las Vegas. The Trojans made a statement by holding the Tigers to only 113 rushing yards in a 27-20 victory. Quarterback Miller Moss is keeping the USC offense chugging along. He’s thrown for 607 yards over two games, the second being a 48-0 win against Utah State.

Miami looks like the favorite to win a wide-open ACC. The ‘Canes are led by Washington State transfer quarterback Cam Ward, who has accounted for seven total touchdowns in runaway wins over Florida and Florida A&M. The Miami defense has allowed a total of 26 points in those matchups.

Then there’s Tennessee, which is returning to 2022 form. The Josh Heupel Volunteers offense has erupted for a combined 120 points in wins over Chattanooga and then-No. 24 North Carolina State. Only four teams in the nation are averaging more yards per game than Tennessee (589.0 yards per game) right now.

Klatt loves what he sees from USC, Miami and Tennessee, and he believes they’re better than their respective AP rankings suggest.