Joel Klatt makes College Football Playoff quarterfinal round picks

The college football world will officially ring in 2025 with the first-ever College Football Playoff national quarterfinals, beginning with Tuesday night’s Fiesta Bowl matchup between No. 6 seeded Penn State and No. 3 seeded Boise State in Glendale, Arizona on New Years Eve (7:30 pm ET).

New Years Day will feature a trifecta of CFP quarterfinal matchups, beginning with No. 5 Texas vs. No. 4 Arizona State in the Peach Bowl (1 pm ET) in Atlanta. Big Ten rivals No. 8 Ohio State and No. 1 Oregon will then face off for the second time this season in the Rose Bowl (5 pm ET) from Pasadena, Calif.; with No. 7 Notre Dame and No. 2 Georgia capping off New Years in style with the Sugar Bowl (8:45 pm ET) from New Orleans.

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Ahead of those quarterfinal showdowns, FOX Sports’ Joel Klatt revealed his predictions for how the College Football Playoff national quarterfinal round will play out on Monday’s episode of The Joel Klatt Show: A College Football Podcast.

Check out Klatt’s predictions below:

No. 6 Penn State (-11.5) vs. No. 3 Boise State

Klatt prediction: Penn State 38, Boise State 24
Joel Klatt believes the Nittany Lions defense will have its hands full with “absolutely remarkable” Boise State running back Ashton Jeanty, the highly-motivated Heisman Trophy runner-up who is just 132 yards shy of eclipsing Barry Sanders‘ NCAA single-season rushing record (2,628 yards in 1988).

Behind a strong start from Jeanty, Klatt expects the Broncos to play “outstanding” in the first half before Penn State wakes up in the second half when its Big Ten depth and own potent rushing offense begins to show up as the Nittany Lions pull away in the fourth quarter and cover the 11.5-point spread.

No. 5 Texas (-12.5) vs. No. 4 Arizona State

Klatt prediction: Texas 31, Arizona State 21
New Years Day kicks off with a bang in a battle between the last two Big 12 champions in the Peach Bowl from Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium. While acknowledging the Sun Devils’ powerful offense, led by “absolutely dynamic” running back Cam Skattebo and steady quarterback Sam Leavitt, Klatt pointed to the loss of 1,101-yard leading receiver Jordyn Tyson as Arizona State’s biggest problem against Texas.

By the same token, Klatt believes the return of the Longhorns’ own big-play threat in Isaiah Bond as well as a healthy Kelvin Banks at left tackle will allow Texas’ offense to take flight behind both Quinn Ewers and Arch Manning at quarterback. From there, Klatt expects the Longhorns’ SEC-leading defense will ultimately clamp down in the second half and prove too much for the Sun Devils to overcome.

No. 8 Ohio State (-2.5) vs. No. 1 Oregon

Klatt prediction: Ohio State 42, Oregon 41
Joel Klatt initially questioned the CFP seeding that allows what he described as “the two best teams in college football” to meet in the national quarterfinals, but championed the all-Big Ten Rose Bowl and even suggested the Granddaddy of Them All host the national title game every year moving foward.

In this rematch of Oregon’s 32-31 win in mid-October, Klatt sees another back-and-forth barnburner that is once again decided by the closest of margins. Only, this time Klatt has the Buckeyes coming out on top thanks to defensive changes made after the prior loss to the Ducks. Klatt still expects Oregon’s “underrated” Heisman finalist Dillon Gabriel to attack OSU cornerbacks Denzel Burke and Davison Igbinosun, but a stout defensive front plus star safety Caleb Downs playing closer to the line of scrimmage will force enough stops to let Ohio State’s talented offense to win the game late.

No. 7 Notre Dame vs. No. 2 Georgia (-1.5)

Klatt prediction: Notre Dame 24, Georgia 17
Joel Klatt, a noted SEC critic, didn’t hold back about the primetime matchup in the Big Easy, describing the Sugar Bowl as the “easiest pick of them all” and opting for the underdog Fighting Irish to win outright and advance to the College Football Playoff’s national semifinals. Georgia enters with plenty of questions, biggest of all at quarterback with sophomore backup Gunner Stockton set to make his first career start in place of injured senior Carson Beck, who recently underwent elbow surgery.

Klatt believes “Notre Dame is too good defensively” and will have the Bulldogs’ “just OK” offense on its heels much of the game. On the flip side, Klatt expects senior quarterback Riley Leonard and the talented Irish ground game will eat up Georgia’s inconsistent defensive front as Notre Dame controls the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball. Klatt rubber stamped his upset prediction by pointing out “this is not the same Georgia team we’ve seen over the last few years.”

All odds are according to FanDuel Sportsbook.