Eventually, we'll get to the ACC Championship Game, but who knows how many twists, turns and tiebreakers still stand between us and Charlotte at this point. We've seen absolute madness in the conference. The Miami Hurricanes were the favorites, but have fallen twice in ACC play. Georgia Tech and Virginia had the inside track, but both have stumbled as well. And the Pitt Panthers made things even more complicated when eyeing a College Football Playoff berth and ACC title bid by dominating the Yellow Jackets in Week 13.
There was a lot on the line on Saturday with the ACC tiebreakers, standings and race to Charlotte for the conference championship game. Pitt downing Georgia Tech was obviously the biggest among them, but that doesn't mean everything is decided yet — in fact, it doesn't even mean the Yellow Jackets are eliminated. So let's break everything we need to know about the ACC Championship Game scenarios heading into the final week of the regular season.
Current ACC football standings
ACC Standings | Conference Record | Overall Record |
|---|---|---|
1. Virginia | 6-1 | 9-2 |
2. Pittsburgh | 6-1 | 8-3 |
3. SMU | 6-1 | 8-3 |
4. Georgia Tech | 6-2 | 9-2 |
5. Miami | 5-2 | 9-2 |
6. Duke | 5-2 | 6-5 |
7. Wake Forest | 4-3 | 8-3 |
8. Clemson | 4-4 | 6-5 |
9. Louisville | 4-4 | 7-4 |
10. California | 3-4 | 6-5 |
11. NC State | 3-4 | 6-5 |
12. Stanford | 3-5 | 4-7 |
13. North Carolina | 2-5 | 4-7 |
14. Virginia Tech | 2-5 | 3-8 |
15. Florida State | 2-6 | 5-6 |
16. Syracuse | 1-6 | 3-8 |
17. Boston College | 0-7 | 1-10 |
Pitt taking down Georgia Tech clearly makes things much more dire for the Jackets, but it doesn't meant that the Panthers are home-free when it comes to the ACC Championship Game either. What the results from Week 13 and the standings entering the final week of the regular season do mean, however, is that both Miami and Duke can no longer make the conference title bout by way of the tiebreakers.
That still leaves us with four contenders still alive for the ACC title, however.
ACC tiebreaker scenarios for the 4 remaining contenders
Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets
Remaining Schedule: vs. Pitt | vs. Georgia
- Need SMU and Virginia to lose in Week 14.
Georgia Tech was in full control of its own destiny entering the final week of ACC play for the Yellow Jackets. If they beat Pitt, they'd be packing their bags for Charlotte already. Things went awry for Brent Key and his team, though, and now Georgia Tech is sitting behind the 8-ball a bit, even if they are still alive with an outside shot to make the ACC Championship Game.
It's all out of the Jackets' hands at this point, however. Georgia Tech's final game is against non-conference rival Georgia, so they're done in ACC play. What they do need in order to clinch a tiebreaker is for SMU and Virginia to both lose in Week 14. That might not be a likely outcome considering they each play bottom-half opponents in the conference, but it does mean that this team isn't dead in the running for a conference championship just yet.
Virginia Cavaliers
Remaining Schedule: vs. Virginia Tech
- Win and in.
- With loss to VaTech, an SMU or Pitt loss still puts Cavs in.
Virginia's path to the ACC Championship Game could be quite simple, but they could also punch their ticket regardless of what happens in the regular-season finale in the rivalry matchup with the Hokies. The easiest path would be to simply win that game, which would leave the Cavaliers' destiny in their own hands.
However, Virginia might already be locked into a spot in the ACC title game before kickoff then. If Pitt loses to Georgia Tech or Miami (so either of their remaining games) or if SMU loses one of their final two games against Louisville and Cal, that would give UVA the tiebreaker over both of those teams, even if they were to each have two conference losses, and push the Hoos to the conference championship game.
Pittsburgh Panthers
Remaining Schedule: vs. Miami
- Win out +
- Need Virginia or SMU to lose in Week 14
Pat Narduzzi must've been onto something when it came to "taking it easy" in the team's non-conference matchup with Notre Dame. Or at least that's what it looked like as they took it to Georgia Tech on Saturday night. That win certainly puts Pitt in great position to play for an ACC title, but it also doesn't mean that's set in stone either.
Winning out against Miami is step one, but Pittsburgh would still then need some help. Virginia or SMU needs to lose in Week 14 for the Panthers to make their way to Charlotte and make an unlikely bid to win the ACC and represent the league in the CFP.
SMU Mustangs
Remaining Schedule: at Cal
- Win out +
- Miami to beat Pitt.
SMU is one of the big winners of Week 13. They first needed to take down Louisville on Saturday, which they did so emphatically and gives them some common opponent tiebreakers they needed. Beyond that, though, the Mustangs also watched Pitt take down Georgia Tech, and are the big beneficiaries of that as it opens the door in a big way.
However, after needing Pitt to win, SMU will now need Pitt to lose in the Panthers' regular-season finale against Miami. A loss there and SMU winning on the road at Cal — which might be easier on paper than it has been this season, would put the Mustangs back to Charlotte for the second straight year and as many seasons as they've been in the league.