We've reached the final two weeks of the College Football season, and all eyes are on the race for the College Football Playoff. In most of the conferences, there are clear front runners for their conference championship games, but in the ACC, there's still so many possibilities that it's impossible to land on one matchup.
Over the final two weeks, there are still 5 teams that will be looking to make it to Charlotte, which is truly absurd. There are plenty of scenarios that could send any mix of the 5 to the ACC Championship Game which makes every game over these last two weeks meaningful.
Breaking down the scenarios for the ACC's 5 remaining contenders
Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets:
- Beat Pitt
Among all of the teams in the ACC, Georgia Tech has the easiest path to the Conference Championship Game. All the Yellow Jackets need to do is win their ACC finale against Pitt, and it'll finish with a 7-1 record in league play, and they'll make the Conference Championship Game.
Virginia Cavaliers:
While the Virginia Cavaliers were the front runner for a long time, they have a very complicated path to the ACC Championship Game. The Cavaliers path starts with winning their regular season finale against In-State Virginia Tech. The Cavaliers will then need SMU to lose to Cal or Louisville and Pitt to lose to Georgia Tech or Miami.
Miami Hurricanes:
While it would take a ton of chaos, the Miami Hurricanes still have a chance to make the ACC Championship Game. The path starts with running the table against Virginia Tech and Pittsburgh. After controlling their own path, Miami would need Virginia to beat Virginia Tech, Pitt to beat Georgia Tech, Duke to beat North Carolina, SMU to split it's final two, and Wake Forest to beat Duke.
The Hurricanes scenarios would both play out to send them to Charlotte to face Virginia after winning the 4 way tie breaker.
SMU Mustangs:
Rhett Lashlee's team is still fighting to return to the ACC Championship Game, and they have a realistic path. The Mustangs would have to handle beating Louisville and Cal while rooting for Virginia Tech to beat Virginia, Pitt to beat Georgia Tech, and Miami to beat Pittsburgh. This would send SMU and Pittsburgh to Charlotte with tiebreakers over Miami, Virginia, and Georgia Tech.
Pitt Panthers:
This weekend's loss to Notre Dame didn't hurt Pitt's Playoff hopes as their path is still through the ACC Championship Game. In order to get there, Pitt first needs to handle business beating Georgia Tech and Miami which is a tough task in it's own. Pitt will then need SMU to lose one of it's final two games, and Virginia to beat Virginia Tech which would have Pitt against the Cavaliers.
The other path for Pitt is if they win out and SMU wins out as they'd then need Virginia Tech to upset Virginia which would make the ACC Championship SMU Vs Pitt.