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Friedlander: 5 questions to ponder before kickoff of Week 11 in ACC football
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It’s not quite Sharpie.
But you probably don’t need to keep an eraser nearby, either.
Even with 4 weeks still remaining in the regular season, the ACC Championship Game matchup is all but set. It would take an unexpected development as stunning as a snowstorm in South Beach to prevent Miami and SMU from meeting for the title in Charlotte on Dec. 7.
Realistically, Clemson and Pitt are the only 2 other teams loosely in contention, but 1 of them will fall out of contention when they play each other next week.
The tie-breaking possibilities are too complicated to go through this early. But for any of them to come into play, both the Hurricanes and Mustangs will have to lose at least 1 one their final 3 games.
Possible, especially considering Mario Cristobal’s history. But unlikely considering the favorable remaining schedules for both teams.
After Saturday’s game at Georgia Tech, Miami finishes with a home game against Wake Forest and a trip to Syracuse. SMU has this week off before closing out with home games against Boston College and Cal sandwiched around a trip to Virginia.
But let’s not get caught looking too far ahead. As any good coach knows, you gotta take ’em 1 game at a time. So with that in mind, here are 5 questions to ponder before kickoff of Week 11 in the ACC:
5. Was the loss to Louisville the beginning of the end for Clemson?
Dabo Swinney’s 23rd-ranked Tigers need a miracle to keep their championship game and Playoff hopes alive. But even that will become a moot point if they don’t win their 2 remaining conference games. And neither is a gimme. Saturday’s showdown with Virginia Tech in Blacksburg was devalued considerably after both teams lost last week. But the Hokies are good, especially if quarterback Kyron Drones and leading rusher Bhayshul Tuten are healthy enough to play. And Lane Stadium is never an easy place to play. With another challenging road game at Pitt next week – outdoors, in the cold – and a rivalry game against suddenly resurgent South Carolina left to play, the egg Clemson laid against Louisville could be a sign of trouble still to come rather than just an unexpected hiccup.
4. How bad of a hurt will Notre Dame put on Florida State?
The Irish have already lost a game they had no business losing, to Northern Illinois in Week 2, so the chances of them taking the 1-8 Seminoles lightly and getting caught by surprise are somewhere south of slim and none. Even if they do, it still probably wouldn’t matter.
There’s a reason the Irish are favored by 14.5 points, via DraftKings Sportsbook.
Notre Dame ranks 4th nationally in scoring defense, allowing 12.2 points per game. FSU ranks next-to-last at 132nd, averaging just 14.4 points while having yet to gain as many as 300 yards in a game. The Irish are squarely on the Playoff bubble at No. 10. With no conference championship game to play, it’s all but a certainty that they’ll be out of the 12-team field with 1 more loss. So you can bet that former Duke quarterback Riley Leonard and his offense won’t take any chances and will keep the hammer down in Tallahassee.
3. Was Pitt finally exposed last week by SMU?
The Panthers have flaws, to be sure. And quarterback Eli Holstein has hit a freshman wall, isn’t healthy or a combination of those factors. But Pat Narduzzi’s 7-1 team isn’t as bad as it looked while getting smacked around by SMU last Saturday night. They ran into the perfect storm against an opponent playing its most meaningful game in 40 years. On homecoming, no less. A couple of big plays, an untimely turnover and one bad quarter are all it took to knock the Panthers from the ranks of unbeaten. Pitt is a good team, not a great one. And it still has a shot – unlikely as it might be – at playing for a championship. Even if SMU did expose the Panthers, they’re playing a team in Virginia that will have a hard time taking advantage of it.
2. Is Tony Elliott still coaching for his job?
It seemed all but inevitable that Elliott had coached his way off the hot seat by leading UVa to a 4-1 start and exceeding his win total from each of his first 2 seasons in Charlottesville. But college football is a “what have you done for me lately” proposition. So coming off 3 straight losses – including a blowout loss to North Carolina – and a remaining schedule featuring 3 ranked teams and rival Virginia Tech, the temperature on Elliott’s seat is starting to rise again. Winning at least 1 of the remaining games, starting with Pitt on Saturday, would all but ensure Elliott is back in 2025 for a 4th year. While going 4-8 isn’t an automatic disqualifier, losing 7 straight to close out a season isn’t the best way to impress your boss.
1. Will Mario Cristobal remember to take a knee this time?
So far, Cam Ward has been the antidote to Cristobal’s iffy game-management skills and Miami’s decades-long penchant for stubbing its toe at the worst. Ward has saved the Hurricanes multiple times, including that 25-point second half comeback at Cal, to keep them undefeated and on track to finally win their first ACC championship.
Now comes his biggest test to date: Georgia Tech.
One year ago, Cristobal produced the signature moment of his 2-plus season tenure at his alma mater by running a play in the final seconds instead of having his quarterback take a knee to run out the clock with a 3-point lead. Miami fumbled. The Yellow Jackets recovered and scored the winning touchdown on a 44-yard pass with 1 second remaining.
Cristobal will undoubtedly be forced to recall his ill-fated decision many times this week. With 5 of the past 6 meetings with Tech having been decided by a touchdown or less, there’s a good chance he’ll be in a similar position in Saturday’s game in Atlanta. Maybe this time he’ll remember to take a knee. Or if he forgets, Ward can always save his coach again by doing it himself.
Award-winning columnist Brett Friedlander has covered the ACC and college basketball since the 1980s.
