Joel Klatt Reveals Surprising Pick as Best ACC Program This Season

Fox Sports analyst Joel Klatt sees the ACC a bit differently than the college football polls reflect headed into Week 8.

The Miami Hurricanes (6-0, 2-0 ACC) sit at No. 6 in the country and the highest-ranked program in the conference through seven weeks. Head coach Mario Cristobal has done a remarkable job in building a program that won just five games in 2022 and seven games last season. Heisman Trophy contender Cam Ward leads leads the country with 20 passing touchdowns and sits second in passing yards 2,219 among quarterbacks.

But the race to the ACC Championship Game is extremely close at the top, as No. 10 Clemson, No. 20 Pittsburgh and No. 20 SMU are each undefeated in conference play.

According to Klatt's rankings, Clemson has done enough since a season opening loss to Georgia to garner the top spot in the ACC. Dabo Swinney's Tigers have two more conference wins than any other program, and have outscored opponents 243-99 since losing to the No. 5 Bulldogs 34-3 in Atlanta.

The rise of junior quarterback Cade Klubnik has been a substantial part of Clemson's winning streak. He's already accounted for 21 total touchdowns on the season.

"If you actually watch the games that are going on over the last couple of weeks, it jumps off the tape," he said on "The Joel Klatt Show." "Clemson is the best team in the ACC. They're 5-1, and their offense has been tremendous. They've won their last five. This is a team that has responded after that loss against Georgia."

While the Tigers have the lead in Klatt's opinion, the Hurricanes are right on their heels at No. 2 in the conference. Miami's last second wins against Virginia Tech and California were too ugly to ignore.

"He's (Ward) the best player in the ACC," Klatt continued. They've also had to come back largely because he put a cape on his back in each of their last two games. So that shows a huge flaw on this team. I mean, we're talking about Virginia Tech and Cal, okay?"

Finishing out Klatt's top five, SMU (5-1, 2-0 ACC) comes in at No. 3 followed by Pitt (6-0, 2-0) and Syracuse (5-1, 2-1). As the conference slate begins to heat up, the more pivotal each game becomes with an ACC title and a spot in the College Football Playoff on the line.

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