Joel Klatt picks teams to play in and winner of ACC Championship

The calendar may say October, but FOX Sports analyst Joel Klatt isn't shying away from postseason predictions. On The Joel Klatt show, the host discussed his projected CFP field, which included naming his picks to play in the ACC title game. More intriguing, Klatt included a CFP longshot in that game and the Playoff field.

Miami

Klatt did pick the Miami Hurricanes to both be in that title game and win it. Klatt projected the winner of Week 6's Florida State-Miami battle to earn an ACC title game spot. He acknowledged that FSU's loss to Virginia clouds the ACC picture and ultimately projected Miami to both win this weekend and to ultimately win the ACC Championship.

Miami's 4-0 start does have the Hurricanes well positioned. If Miami can outlast No. 18 Florida State on the road this week, there are no remaining ranked teams on their regular-season schedule. The remaining road late of SMU, Virginia Tech, and Pittsburgh doesn't look too rough. If they win this week, Miami looks like a solid pick to roll into the ACC title game.

Georgia Tech

But the surprise in Klatt's ACC predictions was the Yellowjackets. Klatt was bullish on both Georgia Tech's talent and on their advantageous schedule.

I really like the competitive character of Georgia Tech because of their quarterback, because of Haynes King. They don't have to play Miami. They don't have to play Florida State. They don't have to play Louisville. So watch out for Georgia Tech to be in that ACC. And by the way, they were my dark horse to go to the College Football Playoff out of the ACC.
Joel Klatt

Klatt's points regarding the upcoming schedule for Tech are well-taken. The Yellowjackets are already 5-0 and other than their annual non-conference battle with Georgia, there are no ranked teams on the rest of their schedule. For that matter, the toughest test outside of UGA is probably a 3-2 Duke team on the road.

Meanwhile, Tech has a dangerous ground attack, with three different rushers at 255 or more yards on the ground so far. As a team, the Yellowjackets are averaging 6.14 yards per rushing attempt. Only Florida State and Virginia are topping Tech's 232 rushing yards per game. A Georgia Tech team that goes 11-1 into the ACC title game seems like a very plausible CFP gate crasher.