The Big Ten Energy is coursing through Joel Klatt's veins like a coronary bypass. He may call mostly Ohio State games these days for FOX to get ratings, but let it be known that he is a Big 12 guy at heart from his days at Colorado. While he normally can be a smart and well-thought-out analyst, he lets who he works for get in his head a little bit all the time. This dig at Kirby Smart was so uncalled for.
He had the nerve to go on Next Round Live and say Curt Cignetti is a better head coach than Smart.
"It leads into this idea of Kirby [Smart] is the best coach in college football. Well, no, he's not. He hasn't even played in the final four in the last three years with good teams by the way. And in some cases based on the composite, the most talented team."
Cignetti has done an incredible job at Indiana, but let's not desecrate the good name of Smart here.
"So Curt Cignetti is doing more with less than anybody. And he's doing it on a stage and at a pace right now that is fairly unprecedented. He did it at Indiana. Guys, Indiana is likely to win the national championship. That blows my mind. It just does."
Here is everything Klatt had to say to ensure himself that his Big Ten bank account will keep growing.
Has Curt Cignetti passed Kirby Smart as CFB's best head coach?
— The Next Round (@NextRoundLive) January 12, 2026
"This narrative that the SEC is somehow vastly superior than the rest of college football. That's dead, as dead as it can possibly be. This idea of the gauntlet of the SEC - dead. At least it should be." - @joelklatt pic.twitter.com/RhYI8cEUQs
Until Indiana repeats, or actually plays anyone in the non-conference, then we can have a discussion.
Joel Klatt picking Curt Cignetti over Kirby Smart is so incredibly rich
This is not mean to disparage what Cignetti has done at Indiana or at places like James Madison, Elon, or IUP before that. We need to have tact with these sort of things. Klatt seems to have thrown that out the window without any rhyme or reason. Bowl season may suggest otherwise, but you cannot put a price on the sheer physical toll it takes on teams that have to play an SEC schedule.
Under Cignetti's watch, Indiana openly chooses to play teams like ... James Madison, Elon, and IUP in the non-conference. They are not scheduling Notre Dame annually. Georgia has to play Clean, Old-Fashioned Hate, as well as a plethora of other strong conference foes. Indiana's two biggest college football rivals are Purdue and Michigan State, two of the absolute worst teams in the Big Ten today.
Again, this is not meant to tear to shreds what he is doing here, but did we not see this a decade or so ago at Clemson? Dabo Swinney was holier than thou with his SEC roster navigating such a weak ACC schedule. The Big Ten is so incredibly top heavy, it is ridiculous. While NIL has undeniably leveled the playing field, there are levels to this. Cignetti is a Mount Rushmore head coach today, but so is Smart.
If we were to have that discussion, Cignetti, Smart, and Ohio State's Ryan Day are firmly on it. The fourth spot is up for debate. Swinney abdicated his spot up there, despite being one of only three active head coaches with a single College Football Playoff championship under his belt. He has two, which is tied for Smart for the most in the sport today. Mario Cristobal may be the fourth if he wins...
To tie a bow on this, Indiana is doing extraordinary things, but how many 10-win seasons have they had in a row? How many conference championships have they won? Have they repeated in the College Football Playoff before? The only program to ever do it was Georgia in 2021 and 2022. In the new 12-team format, the chances of us getting a repeat champion again are likely out the window.
Cignetti is a top-three head coach, may be top-two with one more win, but he has not passed Smart...