During Monday’s ACC PM show on ACC Network, Mark Packer went on a rant in response to Fox Sports college football analyst Joel Klatt, who tweeted that he doesn’t think Clemson (8-0, 6-0 ACC) would finish better than third in the SEC East or Big Ten East.
“Joel, let me help you out – and again, I’m a big Joel Klatt fan, I like him a lot – Joel, I’m going to help you out,” Packer said. “Joel is actually a hundred percent right. Joel is one thousand percent right, and why I say that is Clemson’s been playing football since 1896, and this is the 126th year of football. They’ve never won the SEC or the Big Ten, ever. Since 1896 they’ve been playing, and they’re not going to win it this year. You know why? Because they don’t have to. So, to come up with some foolish nonsense clown act and tweet just so you can get some clicks, good for you. Hopefully people clicked on it, and we’re giving you a bunch of love here on national TV.”
“I’m a big Joel Klatt fan,” Packer added. “But dude, hey man, ask Alabama and Ohio State if Clemson can compete in the College Football Playoff.”
Packer continued, saying talk is meaningless in the month of October and the month of November is when teams have to earn a spot in the College Football Playoff.
“Because you know what, you can talk about whatever you want in October, it really doesn’t matter. Now you’ve got to go earn it in November, and that includes Clemson, that includes anybody in the Big Ten, that includes Alabama and Tennessee, Georgia or anybody else,” Packer said. “You’ve got to go earn it, and you know what, if you end the day with a zero in the loss column and you’re conference champ, I like your chances of getting in. And if you get in, there’s only four, you roll it out there and see where it goes. Is Clemson good enough to do that? We’ll see. I know this much. They’re 8-0. That I do know.”
Packer went on to say that teams just need to go out and handle their business on the field, and everything will take care of itself as far as the playoff is concerned.
“You know what, Ohio State is going to play Michigan. Somebody’s losing. Somebody’s losing. Somebody’s not going to get to a conference championship game,” he said. “I’m going to see Georgia play Tennessee. One of those two’s not going to get to a conference championship game. I’m going to see Alabama play LSU. I tell you what, Bama better win out or else they’re going to be on the couch or going to Duke’s Mayonnaise Bowl or something like that. So, all of this stuff’s going to take care of itself, and if Clemson’s good enough, we’ll see. You don’t have to talk about it in October. They’ve got to go win at Notre Dame, then they’ve got to go close out the deal and beat Louisville, they’ve got to beat Miami and they’ve got to beat all of a sudden South Carolina, who somehow cracked the top 25 this week. And if you’re good enough to get to Charlotte, you’re going to have to probably play maybe North Carolina, who could be ranked.
“So, there’s no need to talk about it in October. The best part of the season’s coming up, and that’s true whether you’re in the Big Ten – who by the way is Joel’s league – or if you’re in the SEC or anybody else for that matter. … Everybody’s entitled to their opinion. My dogs have an opinion. It means just as much as anything else. So, go win your games. I say it all the time. People start worrying about the playoffs and all this. Just go win your games, man. You go win, it takes care of itself.”
–Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images
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