Joel Klatt predicts 2025 ACC Championship matchup, winner

In his prediction for the ACC Championship, Joel Klatt is expecting a matchup which was a possibility at points a year ago. However, as far as the winner, Klatt kept it simple with his choice of the ACC Champion.

During his show on Monday, Klatt made his predictions and projections for the conference championships and for the playoff. That included his pick of Clemson vs. Miami playing for the title in the Atlantic Coast Conference.

“ACC title game? Clemson and Miami,” Klatt said.

Coming out of the regular season last fall, Miami (10-2) was a game ahead overall of Clemson (9-3). Still, the Tigers, despite losing a conference game late to open November, went 7-1 in league play as compared to 6-2 for the Hurricanes, who lost two of their final three on the road at Georgia Tech and Syracuse. That earned Clemson the second of the two spots last year in the ACC Championship, which they won 34-31 on a game-winning field goal over a then-undefeated team in SMU, and would therefore lead to their return to the College Football Playoff.

Now, this season, though, Klatt didn’t overthink this prediction. He has Miami making the conference title game but eventually losing to a better, more-experienced team, overall and when it comes to postseason success, in Clemson

“I think Miami gets there finally, but what does Miami struggle with? Big games, and this would be a giant game – a huge game, basically a play-in game for Mario Cristobal and the Hurricanes,” said Klatt. “Meanwhile, Clemson? Like, this is going to be old hat for them. They will have played LSU. They will have played South Carolina. They’ve got all that experience, including their quarterback, (Cade) Klubnik. They’ve got a coach that’s won two national championships.”

“I think Clemson wins the ACC and they beat Miami in that game,” Klatt said.

Klatt then continued with his praise of Clemson, choosing the Tigers to win the national championship as the No. 3 seed in the playoff after wins over No. 6 Oregon in the quarterfinals, No. 2 Texas in the semifinals, and No. 4 Ohio State in the title game of the CFP. Miami would then miss the field as the first team out, despite being the conference’s runner-up at either 11-2 or 10-3 overall, as the Hurricanes are “just not going to have the resumé”, with Klatt rating them behind Michigan as his final at-large seed at No. 11.

Clemson is a heavy, odds-on favorite to win the ACC in 2025. Klatt was the latest to buy into that with his prediction for the Tigers to win it all in Charlotte, before, per his bracket, going on to win it all in the playoff, ironically, at Hard Rock Stadium come January 19th.