Here’s what Joel Klatt said about Clemson’s showdown with SMU in the ACC Championship, including his final score prediction for the game.
The Clemson Tigers made it to Charlotte after all.
Despite falling 17-14 to rival South Carolina last Saturday, Clemson (9-3 overall, 7-1 ACC) will look to win its 22nd all-time ACC championship Saturday night against a first-year conference foe in the SMU Mustangs (11-1, 8-0). It’s the first time in school history that the Tigers will play the Mustangs on the gridiron.
Clemson benefited from a 42-38 upset loss by the Miami Hurricanes at Syracuse last week to get to the ACC title game. SMU stamped its ticket to Charlotte back on Nov. 23 with a win at Virginia.
On Thursday, Fox Sports college football analyst and broadcaster Joel Klatt gave his thoughts on Clemson vs. SMU heading into weekend, along with a final score prediction. Klatt predicted that Cade Klubnik would lead the Tigers to a win at Bank of America Stadium.
Klatt elaborated on his prediction on his podcast, “The Joel Klatt Show: A College Football Podcast”:
“You’re going to get a very motivated (Clemson) team. They’re going to rely on that culture. I think that they can slow down SMU’s offense, although I do think that this is going to be a high-scoring affair.
“Here’s what I’ve got in this one: SMU is favored (but) I’m going with the outright upset here. Clemson wins this game… 35-31 in a high-scoring game. Clemson wins this thing and punches their ticket to the College Football Playoff.”
RELATED: Cade Klubnik, Clemson ready for their big chance in the ACC Championship
Klatt praised SMU’s offense for its prowess under third-year coach Rhett Lashlee and quarterback Kevin Jennings. But he noted that the Tigers’ defense held South Carolina and LaNorris Sellers, another dual-threat quarterback, to just 17 points last week.
With Clemson driving at the Gamecocks’ 18-yard line with 16 seconds left, Klubnik was intercepted by Demetrius Knight Jr. to seal South Carolina’s second straight win in Death Valley.
Klatt believes the Tigers’ inability to finish against the Gamecocks when they held a 14-7 lead in the fourth quarter left them angry and that it could carry over into Saturday’s game in a good way.
“That should spur them to a quality week of practice and I think some of the fixes necessary to go out and play much better this week,” Klatt said. “Clemson did a good job of running the football. They did a good job of getting the ball out of Klubnik’s hands last week because South Carolina’s rush was elite. They didn’t let that rush really effect them.”
Klatt outlined the ways Clemson could beat SMU.
“SMU also has a good pass rush, so I think the ability to run the football, maybe even with the quarterback — with Klubnik, who ran for two touchdowns last week — I think is gonna be imperative,” he said.” Slow down the rush, use the quick game in the passing game, and don’t expose Cade Klubnik to the pass rush of SMU.”
Clemson is in search of its ninth ACC title under Dabo Swinney and its first since 2022. The Tigers won six straight conference championships from 2015-2020. Clemson fell five spots to No. 17 in this week’s US LBM Coaches Poll. SMU moved up two spots to No. 7.
The Tigers also fell five spots to No. 17 in the updated CFP rankings, released Tuesday. SMU was ranked No. 8. The winner of Saturday’s game will receive an automatic bid into the 12-team playoff and, if Clemson wins, a possible first-round bye and berth in the quarterfinal round at the Peach Bowl in Atlanta.
Kickoff for Clemson vs. SMU is scheduled for 8 p.m. ET. The game will be televised on ABC, with Sean McDonough and Greg McElroy calling the action from Charlotte.
Follow us @Clemson_Wire on X, and like our page on Facebook for ongoing coverage of Clemson news and notes, plus opinions.
