Joel Klatt, a college football analyst for FOX and host of The Joel Klatt Show, has the Oregon Ducks earning the top seed for the first-ever 12-team College Football Playoffs by the end of the regular season and after the Big Ten Championship.
Klat, who has been with FOX since 2006 and played college football for the Colorado Buffaloes, has been a loud voice in Oregon's corner this year and even voiced his support for the Ducks during their slow start to the season.
New month of CFB, new CFP bracket from @joelklatt 🙌 pic.twitter.com/Wk4mwFsGLo
— The Joel Klatt Show: A CFB Pod (@JoelKlattShow) October 31, 2024
With the Ducks currently ranked No. 1 in the country, it has become relatively easy for analysts to give them a top spot in the Playoffs but many are expecting Oregon to fall short in the conference championship game, either facing the Ohio State Buckeyes again or against another undefeated team like Indiana or Penn State.
Recently, a more specific format for the postseason was announced, including which conference champions would play in which bowl games after their first-round byes.
According to long-time college sports reporter Brett McMurphy, due to preexisting deals in regards to bowl games, the SEC champion will play in the Sugar Bowl and the Big Ten champion will play in the Rose Bowl. For geographic (proximity) reasons, the Big 12 champion will appear in the Fiesta Bowl and the ACC champion will play in the Peach Bowl.
In other words, if the Ducks can pull off their perfect regular season and walk away from the conference championship game victorious, then Oregon will get to play in a stadium that they are all too familiar with.
Already this season, Oregon flew down to Pasadena and marched past the UCLA Bruins in their home stadium, the Rose Bowl. Just four years ago, former Oregon quarterback Justin Herbert led the Ducks in a dazzling Rose Bowl Game victory against the Wisconsin Badgers.
If everything goes according to plan, Oregon will receive a first-round bye and play their first College Football Playoff game of the year in the Rose Bowl. The game is scheduled for Wednesday, Jan. 1 at 2 p.m. PT – the third game of the CFP Quarterfinals.