Joel Klatt defends USC vs. Illinois as a game that could shape 2025 college football season
Joel Klatt chose the 10 showdowns he believes mean the most on 2025's college football schedule, including USC at Illinois on Sept. 27.
Joel Klatt chose the 10 showdowns he believes mean the most on 2025’s college football schedule. While there were some usual suspects, a surprising decision had some confused — USC at Illinois on Sept. 27.
It may be a bit unheralded, but Klatt believes the Big Ten clash has intense College Football Playoff ramifications. During the latest episode of The Joel Klatt Show, the FOX Sports analyst made the case.
“This one is sneaky. It’s very under the radar. USC at Illinois, Week 5. This one is going to be very important for both teams,” Klatt explained. “Specifically for Illinois, with their opportunity to be this year’s Indiana and kind of crash the Playoff party. Both teams could very well be 4-0 entering this game. I think that’s absolutely within the realm. A win for Illinois would put them at 5-0, with really their only difficult game left being hosting Ohio State several weeks later. At that point, it’s almost identical to what Indiana was a year ago.
“Remember, Indiana won some important games early, and then they had this looming Ohio State game It almost didn’t matter if they won or lost, because at 11-1, they were going to go to the College Football Playoff, which they did, and they should, regardless of what some people wanted to say about their particular game. They earned their way in, and Illinois could do the same. This is really the crux of the argument. If they can get past USC, now all of a sudden that Ohio State game doesn’t quite look as daunting.”
Evidently, Klatt believes Bret Bielema is building a contender at Illinois, which is one of the more commendable coaching jobs in all of the nation. Whether or not the Fighting Illini follow through remains to be seen, but their clash with the Trojans seems like the inflection point.
“I think Bret Bielema is building something very special,” Klatt added. “What they’re going to have to fight is that it’s very difficult for a program that hasn’t enjoyed top-level success to all of a sudden be the apple of everyone’s eye in the postseason, and everyone telling them how great they are and they’re going to make a run. You’ve got experience at the right positions, and then to continue to go out there and do what you need to do in order to win games, because they’re going to be in close games.
“They still don’t have the talent to go and blow everybody out. But Bielema is building something that I think is very sustainable. It’s tough. it’s defensive-oriented. It’s winning the line-of-scrimmage. It’s winning with experience and in a smart way. So like, could they be in the Playoff? Absolutely. But I don’t think they are in that conversation if they lose this game at home, Week 5 against USC.”
Of course, USC needs the win just as bad, with all the flack Lincoln Riley and company has taken over the past couple of seasons. Whoever gets the dub remains to be seen, but it’s easy to see why Joel Klatt is believing the hype, as this is one Big Ten showdown you can’t miss in September.
