Joel Klatt dissects College Football Playoff bubble, predicts last team in 12-team bracket

Fox Sports’ Joel Klatt dissected the College Football Playoff bubble and who could potentially get that last spot.

Spoiler alert, it’s going to be Alabama, at least in Klatt’s mind. But the bubble will be fascinating with teams such as SMU, Alabama, Ole Miss, South Carolina and Miami.

But Klatt is going off the assumption SMU is on the playoff bubble with an ACC Championship Game loss.

“SMU, if they lose to Clemson, would be a bubble team,” Klatt began on his podcast. “So Clemson could play themselves in with a win in the ACC championship game … Then you would get the three SEC teams that everybody is talking about right now, Alabama, Ole Miss and South Carolina and then maybe Miami is also a bubble team … You’ve got five teams on the bubble. One of them is only if they lose, which would be SMU as a loser in the ACC championship game. 

“It’ll be interesting to see, like, how they would penalize or not penalize SMU for getting into that game. Like, for instance, SMU would likely be in now, and now they have to play an extra game. Does that extra game in an ACC championship game definitely knock them out? That’s fascinating. Then you’re going to get to see how the committee views these three SEC teams, Alabama, Ole Miss, South Carolina.”

In the end, especially if the bubble plays out the way Klatt sees it, Alabama will get the final playoff spot, with seeding to be determined.

“The politics season is just so frustrating,” Klatt said. “We hear it from Kirby all the time. We used to hear it from Nick Saban … And now Lane Kiffin is out there, and he’s kind of taking up that torch, and now he’s doing it through Twitter, because he’s new age, you know, right … Remember, Ole Miss has got the win against Georgia. That’s obviously going to count for a lot more, but I just love that Bret Bielema trolls him right back … So that’s the bubble. 

“Where do I think we’re going to fall on the bubble? Well, folks, I don’t. I’m not telling you this, that I love this. I am telling you this. This is what I think is going to happen. I believe that the last team in the playoff is going to be Alabama. It’s just what I believe.” 

The other teams have arguments, but Alabama gets the nod in the playoff.

“Now you can argue all you want that Ole Miss should be in there,” Klatt said. “I do believe, based on how they’ve treated Indiana and SMU at times, and other teams that don’t have the brand of others, brand can carry the day, and the path of least resistance in this case, I think would be Alabama. Now that’s a prediction. That’s not what I’m arguing for. That’s just a prediction. 

“I think that Alabama is going to go to the College Football Playoff as the 12th seed. Unless Clemson were to win and then they’d probably be the 12 seed and you get what I’m saying … I think Alabama is going to go, and I think that’s going to break people’s minds.”