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Joel Klatt explains why Alabama and Clemson are ‘not on the same trajectory’
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Alabama falling at home to Texas doesn’t equate to Clemson’s defeat at Duke as FOX Sports’ Joel Klatt sees it.
“Alabama is not going anywhere. Period,” Klatt said on “The Joel Klatt Show” on Tuesday. “Those of you who want to bury Alabama, let’s be very honest, if you look a team like Clemson and the way that they struggled with Duke on the road and what they looked like and what Alabama looked like against an elite Texas team, then we need to be honest with ourselves to say like those are 2 different things.”
“These two programs are not on the same trajectory”@JoelKlatt breaks down why Alabama is NOT on the same path as Clemson ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/inySRYmcor
— The Joel Klatt Show: A CFB Pod (@JoelKlattShow) September 12, 2023
Fourth-ranked Texas took down No. 10 Alabama 34-24 on Saturday, less than a week after then-No. 9 Clemson cratered 28-7 in Durham, North Carolina, on Sept. 4. Clemson (1-1) fell out of the national rankings, but bounced back to throttle FCS Charleston Southern 66-7 on Saturday.
Alabama (1-1) visits South Florida (1-1) on Saturday with a chance to bounce back from the “first double-digit home loss of the [Nick] Saban era” as Klatt noted. Clemson, meanwhile, has Florida Atlantic (1-1) coming to Death Valley on Saturday before the Tigers get a first shot at an elite team in No. 3 Florida State on Sept. 23.
“Those teams 5 years ago, they were the preeminent programs in the country. We were constantly asking ourselves, ‘Are we ever going to have a national championship game that’s not Alabama-Clemson?'” Klatt said. “[But] these 2 programs are not on the same trajectory. Clemson’s trajectory is headed down. Period.”
“Alabama may be flat, but they’re not going anywhere,” Klatt said.
