Joel Klatt predicts Big Ten title game teams and conference winner

Ohio State and Oregon projected to meet in Big Ten championship with Buckeyes favored.

Fox Sports college football analyst Joel Klatt predicts Ohio State and Oregon will face in the Big Ten championship with the Buckeyes taking home the title and No. 1 seed in the College Football Playoff. | Joseph Cress/For the Register / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The Big Ten has already produced dramatic moments just one month into the season, and Joel Klatt is projecting which two programs will rise to the top. On Wednesday’s episode of The Joel Klatt Show, he laid out his forecast for the conference title game, zeroing in on Ohio State and Oregon as the clear Big Ten frontrunners.

Both teams delivered statement wins last weekend, reinforcing their early-season dominance. Oregon survived a double-overtime battle at Penn State, while Ohio State controlled Washington on the road. Neither team faces the other in the regular season, which opens the door for both to arrive unbeaten in December.

Klatt explained that while the race is far from over, the Buckeyes have the stronger case. He picked Ohio State to win the Big Ten title, a victory he believes would also give them the No. 1 overall seed in the College Football Playoff.

Ohio State And Oregon Viewed As Clear Frontrunners

Klatt described how the path appears to be taking shape. “In the Big Ten, I think that this championship game, at least right now, after last weekend’s win for Oregon at Penn State, you can safely say that it’s not a foregone conclusion here, but Oregon and Ohio State, right now up to this point, are the two best teams in the Big Ten.”

He added a quick aside, noting other challengers. “All due respect to Indiana, obviously, but those two would be my championship game participants. They do not play in the regular season, so, in theory, they could each get there as undefeated.”

Klatt made his pick without hesitation. “Maybe they do, maybe they don’t, but Ohio State and Oregon, I think Ohio State would be the winner there. So that would be my champion out of the Big Ten.”

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When turning his focus to the playoff bracket, he continued. “So now we’ve gone through the champ games. We kind of understand who might be in. I’m throwing my pen around, who might be in, who might be out, the number one overall seed.”

He framed the possibility of both teams reaching December without a loss. “If you were to get Oregon and Ohio State playing as undefeated, which I mentioned early, is that likely? I don’t know. I mean, these schedules are tough. It’s tough to go undefeated, in particular in these conferences. But let’s just say that happens for the sake of argument.”

The conclusion was clear. “Well, then the champion would obviously be the number one seed overall. So that’s Ohio State. I have them winning, and they would be the number one seed, and they would be getting one of the byes in this scenario.”

Buckeyes Defense Continues To Set The Tone

Ohio State’s defensive effort at Washington underscored why Klatt sees the Buckeyes as the top threat in the league. In front of a raucous crowd of 72,845, they limited the Huskies to just 234 total yards in a 24-6 win. The victory snapped Washington’s 22-game home winning streak and reinforced the growth of a defense that lost stars like Tyleik Williams and JT Tuimoloau to the NFL draft.

Caden Curry led the charge with three sacks, five tackles for loss and 11 total tackles. “You love to see the pressure put on you as a defensive line,” Curry said. “I feel like our defensive line this year’s just a bunch of no-names. We just go out there, we just try to ball, we try to play as hard as we can.”

Ohio State football head coach Ryan Day and the Buckeyes are following their national championship season with another run at the title. | Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

First-year defensive coordinator Matt Patricia has helped oversee a unit that has given up only 22 points through four games, a pace that has drawn praise from Day. “I’m not surprised, but it’s exciting,” Day said. “It’s exciting to see the capability, the potential. And I think if we can all stick together as a team, we’ll have a chance.”

Quarterback Julian Sayin managed the offense with efficiency, completing 22 of 28 passes for 208 yards and two touchdowns. His 18-yard strike to CJ Donaldson in the fourth quarter capped a steady performance that showed poise on the road. “Our mindset was just keep swinging,” Sayin said. “Things aren’t going to go our way the whole time, there’s going to be momentum shifts, so we just got to keep swinging.”

Oregon Stays Perfect Behind Moore’s Play

Oregon’s dramatic 30-24 double-overtime win at Penn State also fueled Klatt’s confidence in the Ducks as the Big Ten’s other finalist. Dillon Thieneman sealed the win with an interception in the second overtime, handing the Ducks their FBS-leading 23rd straight regular-season victory.

Head coach Dan Lanning praised his team’s approach. “We just talked all week about it’s about getting a cut,” Lanning said. “It’s death by 1,000 cuts. Eventually that cut was going to be a jugular and that last interception was a jugular.”

Oregon head coach Dan Lanning and the Ducks secured a big double-overtime win over the Penn State Nittany Lions on Saturday | Ben Lonergan/The Register-Guard / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Quarterback Dante Moore remained steady in one of college football’s most hostile environments, delivering an 8-yard touchdown pass to Dierre Hill Jr. and leading a 75-yard drive capped by Jordan Davison’s touchdown run. The redshirt sophomore signal-caller is emerging as one of the sport’s brightest stars, already drawing early NFL draft chatter, like when ESPN's Mike Greenberg shared his belief that Moore would be the No. 1 overall pick if the draft were held today.

Oregon kept Penn State tailbacks Kaytron Allen and Nicholas Singleton bottled up, holding them to just 18 rushing yards in the first half. The Ducks improved to 12-0 in regular-season Big Ten games since joining the conference, strengthening their position as one of the nation’s top teams.

The Buckeyes will host Minnesota on Oct. 4, while the Ducks are idle this weekend before facing Indiana on Oct. 11.