Most chaotic possibilities coming out of Championship Weekend
By Zach Bigalke
Chaos already dominated in determining who plays for ACC championship
Wake Forest lost two of its last four games of the regular season and still qualified for the ACC championship game out of the Atlantic Division with ease over NC State. Pittsburgh finished two games clear of Miami in the Coastal Division after going unbeaten in November. Both teams arrive in Charlotte with 10 wins and the chance to qualify for a New Year’s Six bowl game for the first time in the College Football Playoff era.
Just this matchup alone throws college football for a loop. For the first time in seven years, Clemson has no chance to win the ACC crown. The perennial Playoff contenders faded in a three-loss regular season, opening the door for chaos to play out in the regular season as ACC teams knocked each other out of national contention.
Whoever wins in Charlotte on Saturday, will spell the end of an era. For the first time since the 2012-2013 season, an ACC team will not have a shot at the national championship. Florida State and Clemson have largely been the standard-bearers for the league over the past decade, and with both programs down in 2021, it is left to a couple of ACC afterthoughts to take their moment in the sun.