Klatt's Live Ann Arbor Show Features Stoops, Portnoy Before Oklahoma Clash

FOX Sports analyst Joel Klatt hosted a live edition of "The Joel Klatt Show" at The Circ Bar in Ann Arbor ahead of Michigan's home game against No. 11 Oklahoma on Saturday. The sold-out event, the third live taping of the show, brought together former Oklahoma head coach Bob Stoops and "Big Noon Kickoff" personalities Jenny Taft and Dave Portnoy.

The evening mixed lighter segments with substantive college football discussion. Portnoy, a vocal Michigan fan on air and on social media, unveiled his all-time Wolverines lineup, naming quarterback J.J. McCarthy - who helped lead Michigan to the 2023 national championship - alongside Desmond Howard and Anthony Carter at wide receiver, Tim Biakabutuka at running back, and Charles Woodson, the 1997 Heisman Trophy winner, on defense. Portnoy also revisited his complicated view of former Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh, saying he wanted him out during a stretch of difficult seasons before McCarthy's arrival changed the program's trajectory. Harbaugh departed after guiding Michigan to three straight Big Ten titles from 2021-23 and an undefeated national championship season in his final year. bkfc fight odds

Stoops, who coached Oklahoma from 1999 to 2016 and won a BCS national title in 2000 along with two Big 12 championships, addressed the sport's ongoing debate over playoff expansion. He said an increase to 24 teams could offset the loss of certain rivalry games, arguing it would give programs like Michigan more room to recover from an early-season setback.

The show closed with polygraph-style questioning of Klatt and Portnoy, an segment styled after viral lie-detector interviews. Klatt was asked whether he believed Michigan could beat Oklahoma on Saturday and answered "yes." Portnoy, meanwhile, was pressed by Taft about Rutgers' season-opening loss to UMass rather than Michigan's matchup. The live show served as a preview to Saturday's game, which will test Michigan against a ranked Oklahoma team as the Big Noon Kickoff crew shifts its attention to the Ann Arbor matchup.