ESPN Analyst Sam Acho Picks Clemson Tigers to Win College Football Playoff

An ESPN analyst recently picked the Clemson Tigers to win it all.

Keynote speaker Sam Acho, a former NFL player and ESPN analyst, speaks Monday, Jan. 16, 2023, during the Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration at the Hope + Elim Church in Des Moines. Mlk Celebration 13 / Scott Morgan/For the Register / USA TODAY NETWORK

The Clemson Tigers are now less than a week away from their first-round match up in the College Football Playoff against the Texas Longhorns.

It has been a nice week of rest and preparation for the Tigers. Without a doubt, most players are feeling the effects of a long season, and a week off to heal up has certainly been nice.

While it wasn’t a perfect season, Clemson was able to win the ACC Title and clinched an automatic bid into the CFP. A few things went right for the Tigers this season with teams helping to keep the door open for them, but when they needed to win, Clemson got the job done.

Now, they will be facing one of the best teams in the country in the Longhorns. Texas has had a ery strong season in the SEC, with their only two losses coming against the Georgia Bulldogs.

Texas will be hoping to handle their business next Saturday, as they are a sizable favorite in the game. Recently, ESPN Analyst Sam Acho predicted that the Tigers would be the team to win it all and highlighted some of the improvements that they have made over the course of the year.

“They’ve gotten better,” Acho said of the Tigers on ESPN’s “Championship Drive” show with text via Gavin Oliver of Clemson Insider. “They’ve gotten bigger. Rookies, freshmen have stepped up. Young players have turned into dominant players. T.J. Moore, receiver, Bryant Wesco Jr., receiver, playing better. Cade Klubnik and this entire team learned from their mistake (against) Georgia. It was 6-0 at halftime in Week 1, ended up getting blown out.”

Clemson is certainly a better team than they were in Week 1 against the Bulldogs, and a lot of that has to do with the performance of Cade Klubnik. After the poor start to the season, the junior quarterback went on to have a fantastic campaign. This year, he totaled 3,303 passing yards, 33 passing touchdowns, and just five interceptions.

While he has performed well throwing the ball, he has also used his legs to win games. Klubnik also totaled 458 rushing yards and seven rushing touchdowns.

Clemson is going to be facing off against arguably the best defense that they will see all season in the Longhorns. The Tigers will need their talented quarterback to be on his A-game to beat Texas. However, if they can pull off an upset in the first-round, there is no reason why they can’t go all the way.