We are rolling to another huge college football weekend, but this time with an added oomph in our veins. Why not? It’s championship weekend, fellow football freaks! A slew of teams will put their everything on the line to secure a spot in the college football playoff bubble in a final attempt. The latest set of the CFP ranking was nothing short of chaos, garnering a lot of frustration from the teams who were barred from the thick of the top 12. But the worst part is that committee chairperson Warde Manuel has made it clear that teams with no championship shot this weekend can’t do anything to improve their ranking. SMU, thankfully, gets a chance to get into the bracket if they mount a win against the Tigers. But if you believe Joel Klatt’s stance, the chance still seems futile.

Fox Sports college football analyst Joel Klatt has dropped his expert bombshell on almost every championship contender no matter whether you pay heed to him or not. For the much-awaited ACC Championship that will feature Clemson Tigers and SMU Mustangs in a first-ever match-up, the veteran analyst holds Clemson to pick up a win as a 2.5-point underdog.

“I’m going with the outright upset here. Clemson wins this game. They cover that two and a half, and they get the win outright. 35-31 in a high-scoring game, Clemson wins this thing and punches their ticket to the college football playoff,” said Klatt in a stunning prediction.

Clemson Tigers sustained an upset loss to South Carolina last week, but god has been kind to them. Syracuse’s setback against Miami in week 14 made up for their strength of schedule. They can no longer get an at-large bid, but they can still walk out with an automatic berth if they gain the upper hand over the Mustang this Saturday.

It’s a sincere call for Dabo Swinney as the team is going to step up to its first ACC title game since 2022. They come into Saturday with three losses, one to Louisville (33-21) and two to Top 15 SEC opponents Georgia (34-3) and South Carolina (17-14). But The Tigers’ offense with Cade Klubnik under center still shows some to rewrite the history at Charlotte.

But would that mean a full and final CFP kickout for the Mustangs? Coach Rhett Lashlee argued why it shouldn’t be so.

Rhett Lashlee doesn’t think a loss against the Tigers will hamper their playoff hope

With the Mustangs sitting at No. 8 in the latest rankings, Lashlee got zero chill thinking about its uncertain future over the ACC championship weekend. You can see it as a deep-seated lack of confidence in the team’s ability or just as a regular concern of a head coach, and it doesn’t change his opinion. The veteran HC doesn’t buy the narrative of losing the ACC Championship Game to Clemson, which should prevent the Mustangs from making the playoffs.

Lane Kiffin put the committee on notice for not granting them a chance to improve the rankings and invalidate the SEC championship grandeur in his latest anti-authority rant. Lashlee got some luck with the CFP spot, but it’s still not sealed. A slip against the Tigers can unsettle their playoff fate and make a strong push for Alabama to rise higher. He wholeheartedly rejects the nonsense, comparing it to high-graded teams like Georgia and Texas, who don’t owe a risk to their respective SEC week performances.

He called out the partiality and dished a savage, ”If our team got hit with COVID today and didn’t play, we’d still be in,”.

But Paul Finebaum has him on the check, suggesting he go out and ace the test instead of indulging in unnecessary complaints.

It will be intriguing to watch how the ACC treats both programs with different goals at hand.