Has ACC become another Pac-12 with this season?

The Pac-12 is no stranger to being a “cannibal conference” due to the eliminating of itself from playoff contention. Is the ACC going down that same road?

With the North Carolina State Wolfpack downing their rival UNC in a 34-30 nail-biter, the Atlantic division of the ACC has come down between two teams–NC State and Wake Forest. In other words, Clemson has officially been eliminated from contention for the conference crown.

What this means for the league is that it will either see its champion for the first time in 15 years (if Wake wins) or see a victor never-before witnessed in the ACC title game era. But one fact will stand regardless of the outcome: The winner will not even sniff the College Football Playoff bracket.

That’s right, the ACC sucks this year, and everyone knew it as soon as the team to beat was Wake Forest.

Currently, there are four Atlantic Coast teams to be seen in the CFP Top 25, which is not a terrible haul whatsoever. But when the highest-ranked of the bunch is No. 17 Pittsburgh, we got a problem. And not just any problem–a West Coast problem.

The whole “missing the playoff” charade is painfully similar to the one that the Pac-12 Conference has fallen victim to for the past several seasons, as the last representative of theirs to make the bracket was 2016 Washington.

The reason that the Pac-12 has missed out on all of the recent fun is their tendency to act as a “cannibal conference.” In the college football world, a cannibal conference is one that sees its members feast on one another for the entirety of the regular season. As a result, all of the league’s teams have too many losses to even be considered for a playoff spot. Sound familiar?

A beautiful example of what a cannibal conference looks like in full swing is how the ACC has looked this year. Don’t believe me? Well check this out: Wake Forest lost to both Clemson and UNC, those two both lost to NCST, and NCST lost to Wake. Meanwhile, Pittsburgh lost to Miami, Miami lost to both UNC and Virginia, and those two both lost to Pitt.

Now yes, the Deacs losing to the Tar Heels was not officially counted as a loss in league play. However, the point still remains that such an outcome played a role in the Atlantic Coast’s eventual elimination from the playoff bubble.

Many fans believe that the ACC will be back to guaranteeing playoff spots in 2022 now that Clemson is fixing to conclude this season with some newfound rhythm. However, some notable pundits–such as SEC fanboy Paul Finebaum–believe that the Tigers dynasty has been forever put to rest.

Hopefully the former prediction is correct, as the ACC ceasing to make the bracket is just bad for the sport. College football can survive the Pac’s mediocrity; they rarely–if ever–prioritize the sport to begin with. The ACC, though, gives CFB a much bigger spotlight, typically has highly-superior recruits/coaches, and keep a big foot in the door of Southern audiences.

Either way, the Atlantic Coast Conference was, objectively, a huge bummer this year. It was refreshing to see some new faces come out and play, but squads like Wake Forest, NC State and Pitt are just not big enough to keep up with the might of names such as Georgia and Ohio State. Let’s see something bigger next time.