How does the ACC get multiple teams into the College Football Playoff this year?

This 2024 college football season is projected to bring chaos and more teams into the chase for a national championship. The 12-team College Football Playoff system comes into effect this postseason. One team from each Power Four conference will be in the playoff with the rest of the teams filled in by at-large bids and one of the best non-power conference teams.

The ACC is a conference that has been diminished by the lack of dominance from its key members. The biggest storyline in the ACC this season is the embarrassing fall of the Florida State Seminoles, who have lost four of their first five games.

The ACC wants to remain in the hunt for a national title this season, but its options are limited. There are a few instances where multiple teams could make the 12-team playoff system. There are obvious teams like No. 8 Miami and No. 15 Clemson. Then, other teams could make a surprising entrance.

How does the ACC get multiple teams into the College Football Playoff this year?

Teams like Texas, Alabama, Georgia and Ohio State are the squads many believe will be the teams to beat in the CFP this season. Not far from the rankings are the No. 8 Miami Hurricanes (5-0), who survived their toughest test of the season by forcing a close incompletion on a Hail Mary to beat Virginia Tech 38-34.

The Hurricanes don’t have a top-25 win yet this season. Their biggest win to date is a 41-17 road win in week one over the Florida Gators. The Hurricanes go on the road to take on the California Golden Bears (3-1) then a road game vs. No. 15 Louisville (3-1) after a bye-week. Miami has a 61% chance to make the Playoff based on ESPN’s Allstate Playoff Predictor, sixth-best in the nation.

The next best odds for a team from the ACC to make the playoff are the No. 15 Clemson Tigers (3-1) at 33%. The Tigers got smacked by No. 1 Georgia in week one 34-3, but since then, have dominated teams themselves. Clemson beat Appalachian State by 46, NC State by 24 and Stanford by 26, all at home. The Tigers will have a rivalry game at Florida State in Week 5, a home game vs. No. 15 Louisville in November, at Pittsburgh (4-0) and a regular-season finale vs. South Carolina in Death Valley.

It’s going to take a convincing push from the remainder of the ACC teams to make a case for the playoffs. No. 22 Louisville (3-1) has the 19th best odds to make the playoffs at 21%. This comes after the Cardinals lost on the road to No. 16 Notre Dame 31-24 on Saturday. The Cardinals have a brutal remaining schedule with ranked games versus Miami and Clemson as well as matchups versus SMU (4-1) next week, at Virginia (3-1), at Stanford (2-2), a home game against undefeated Pittsburgh and a road game against Kentucky (3-2).

SMU has the 23rd-best odds to make the playoffs at 13%, the fourth-best in the ACC. SMU suffered a tough 18-15 home loss to BYU in Week 3 but has beaten TCU by 24 and Florida State by 26 since then. They are a dark horse team from the ACC to make the playoffs.

Miami, Duke (5-0) and Pittsburgh (4-0) are the only undefeated teams from the ACC. Duke’s biggest wins are over a bad Northwestern team 26-20 on the road and a 21-20 home win over North Carolina on Saturday. Pittsburgh has more impressive wins than Duke with a 28-27 road win over Cincinnati, a 38-34 home win over West Virginia and a dominating 73-17 over Youngstown State on Saturday.

There is a great chance that a third ACC team can appear in the first 12-team playoff, but they will need to be nearly perfect throughout the regular season in order to be considered.