Joel Klatt outlines early CFP implications from Week 1 FSU-LSU matchup

Joel Klatt is raring to go for Week 1 of the college football season. He also believes one game will paint an early picture for what could potentially be a key College Football Playoff debate late in the season.

LSU and Florida State face off right out of the gate in a matchup of teams looking to get to the Playoff. According to Klatt, the outcome of this game even has early implications for the CFP down the road.

“It’s going to be a good game. 2 stud QBs, pass rushers, talent, lot of NFL players on this field. Jayden Daniels and Jordan Travis. I love this Harold Perkins and Jared Verse type of pass-rushing battle,” said Klatt. “I think this game goes a long way in the CFP. Both of these teams believe that they have CFP aspirations. This is going to set the tone between the eventual ACC champion and the eventual SEC West champion.”

If that scenario plays out with LSU winning the SEC West (but losing in Atlanta) and FSU winning the ACC, the Week 1 game could be used as a measuring stick for a Playoff spot per Klatt:

“We both believe these teams are going to vie for those two titles… So this game will tell us everything we need to know if we have a debate late in November, early December between let’s hypothetically say a non-SEC champ west division winner and the ACC champ,” Klatt explained. “If it comes down to a debate, guess which game we’re going to be looking at? This one.”

As for the matchup, Klatt went on to say he expects LSU to have the better team and he expects the Tigers to win. LSU enters the game as a -2.5 favorite over the Seminoles in a rematch of last season’s thriller.

This is a game we’ll be talking about in November and December ?@JoelKlatt breaks down LSU vs Florida State and explains why it has CFP implications even though it’s only Week 1 pic.twitter.com/mZhDEMd5d6

— The Joel Klatt Show: A CFB Pod (@JoelKlattShow) August 31, 2023

Paul Harvey

Paul Harvey lives in Atlanta and covers SEC football.