1999 Honda Prelude Weird exhaust noise

Two problems surfaced at once today. I am almost positive my clutch went out. It is hard to accelerate in first and second. The revs climb without putting power to the ground and it is jumpy. I am pretty familiar with cars and I think I can tell it is a worn out clutch.

The strange part is that the car no longer idles well. The revs get too low and a strange noise "pops" from the exhaust. It sounds like the "thump" you hear when a roman candle firework shoots out of the tube. Its not very loud but quite discernible and you can feel it through the car.

Could these two problems be related? The car was running perfectly before today. I recently purchased it new. I'm more concerned about the "popping" noise than the clutch. Thanks