Remember when the ACC couldn’t wait for basketball season to start?

At least so far, the anticipation hasn’t lived up to the results. Especially with the league’s only 2 ranked teams, bluebloods Duke and North Carolina, off to stumbling starts.

All of a sudden, the whole football thing doesn’t look quite so bad anymore.

By avoiding the chaos that threw the SEC race into turmoil, threatened to leave the Big 12 out in the cold and exposed Indiana in the Big Ten, the ACC has put itself in position to get at least 2 bids into the expanded College Football Playoff bracket.

Maybe even 3 if things break just right.

All that, of course, is contingent on the league’s 3 Playoff contenders holding serve on Saturday.

No. 9 SMU, which has already clinched a spot in next week’s ACC Championship Game, can finish an unbeaten inaugural league schedule with a win against Cal. No. 6 Miami can join the Mustangs in Charlotte by going on the road and beating Syracuse. And No. 12 Clemson can improve its Playoff resume considerably by taking down nonconference arch-rival South Carolina.

Those are just 3 of the games adding spice to an already emotional Rivalry Week schedule that gained even more intrigue with North Carolina’s announcement that Saturday’s showdown against NC State will be the last for Hall of Fame coach Mack Brown.

While we wait to see how it all plays out, here are 5 questions to ponder before kickoff:

5. How will Mack Brown’s retirement/firing impact the Tar Heels?

It will either be a distraction or motivation. Given the roller coaster ride the Tar Heels have been on for the entire season, there’s no telling which one it will be. Brown threatened to resign after UNC gave up a 70 burger in a loss to James Madison, then proclaimed his desire to return in 2025 after turning things around and leading his team to bowl eligibility. But just when it seemed as though the Tar Heels had finally figured things out, they laid an egg in a lopsided loss at Boston College last week. While emotions will undoubtedly come into play against the Wolfpack, UNC’s ability to put pressure on quarterback CJ Bailey and get Omarion Hampton more than the 14 touches he had against BC will have more of an impact on the outcome than the players’ state of mind.

4. Could Dave Doeren join Brown on the chopping block if NC State doesn’t beat the Tar Heels?

State needs a win in Chapel Hill to salvage bowl eligibility and avoid its first losing record since 2019. One thing the Wolfpack has going for them is that they’ve owned the Tar Heels of late. They’ve won 3 straight and 6 of the past 8 meetings, including 2 of 3 at Kenan Stadium. That dominance has helped endear Doeren to his team’s passionate fan base. But for all his success, his teams have never been able to get over the 10-win hump and compete for championships. And the folks in West Raleigh are starting to get restless, especially after the basketball team’s Final Four run last spring. Losing to the Tar Heels could be the excuse AD Boo Corrigan needs to shift the program in a new direction. While the odds are against that happening, a loss would certainly raise the temperature under Doeren’s seat heading into next season.

3. Does Georgia Tech have any shot at pulling off the upset of Georgia?

The Yellow Jackets have been the nail to the Bulldogs’ hammer in this rivalry over the past quarter century. Tech has lost 6 straight and 19 of the past 22 meetings since 2021. And UGA is a 19.5-point favorite according to DraftKings sportsbook for Saturday’s renewal of Clean Old-Fashioned Hate in Athens. But there’s actually reason for the Yellow Jackets to be more optimistic about their chances than usual this time around. For starters, they’re clearly on the upswing under Brent Key. They’ve also had success against ranked opponents and could potentially catch the Bulldogs looking ahead to next week’s SEC title game. If they can shorten the game with a consistent ground attack the way they did in their upset of Miami, trust freshman quarterback Aaron Philo’s arm and turn UGA’s Carson Beck into the interception machine he was against Alabama, Texas and Florida, they could make things very interesting.

2. Is Clemson really a Playoff team?

We’ll find out when the Committee announces its final rankings on Dec. 8. It’s debatable whether the Tigers even deserve to be in the Playoff conversation given their suspect resume. They’ve lost to the 2 best teams they’ve played, Georgia and Louisville. And their best win, against Pittsburgh, is against a team that’s lost 4 straight after a 7-0 start. But here’s the reality of the situation: If they beat rival South Carolina on Saturday and finish at 10-2, it’s not unreasonable to assume they’ll move up from their current status as the last team out into the top 11. Even if they lose to the Gamecocks on Saturday, Clemson will still have a pathway into the Playoff if Syracuse beats Miami. That would send Dabo Swinney’s team to the ACC Championship game against SMU with a shot at earning the league’s automatic bid.

1. Can Mario and Miami handle the pressure and close the deal?

The Hurricanes are solidly in the Playoff field at No. 6. They’re a win away from playing for their first ACC championship. They’ve flushed that unsightly loss to Georgia Tech. And they’re a 10.5-point favorite against Syracuse. What could possibly go wrong? Beyond the Mario factor and Miami’s history of coming up small in big spots since joining the ACC, there’s the matter of Kyle McCord vs. a young, banged-up Hurricanes secondary that’s had a penchant for giving up big plays. McCord leads the ACC at 358.7 yards per game and his 26 touchdown passes rank third behind Miami’s Cam Ward (34) and Clemson’s Cade Klubnik (29). Other than the Georgia Tech game, Ward has been the antidote to the Hurricanes’ usual self-destructive tendencies. The best players usually save their best performances for when the games mean the most. This will be his biggest test yet.

Brett Friedlander

Award-winning columnist Brett Friedlander has covered the ACC and college basketball since the 1980s.