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Friedlander: 5 questions to ponder before kickoff of Week 12 in ACC football
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Back in July at the ACC’s preseason media event in Charlotte, commissioner Jim Phillips proclaimed that his conference has “the most exciting collection of teams in the country.”
Then last week, Pitt coach Pat Narduzzi doubled down on the statement by calling the ACC “the best conference out there.”
Give credit to both for their commitment to the narrative. Even if no one outside the league, least of all the members of the College Football Playoff Committee, is buying into it. While the ACC does have 4 teams in this week’s Playoff rankings, only 1 is currently high enough to earn a spot in the expanded 12-team postseason field.
That team, No. 9 Miami, is among the 6 conference members enjoying open dates this week.
While we wait for No. 14 SMU and the rest of that “exciting collection of teams” to take the field for their Week 12 matchups, here are 5 questions to ponder before kickoff:
5. Which 5-win team has the best chance of earning bowl eligibility this week?
There are 6 ACC teams with 5 wins — 1 victory from bowl eligibility. Four play Saturday. Of that group, North Carolina is in the best position to earn its postseason ticket against in-state rival Wake Forest. The Tar Heels have won the past 4 meetings in Chapel Hill, scoring 49 or more points each time. And they’re coming off their 2 best efforts of the season prior to last week’s open date.
Cal also has some momentum after finally earning its first ACC victory last week at Wake Forest. But the Bears face a more challenging test in Syracuse, whose quarterback Kyle McCord leads the nation in passing yards per game at 350.3. Boston College, which is at league-leading SMU, and Virginia, which travels to South Bend to take on No. 8 Notre Dame, might have to wait at least another week to get to the 6-win mark.
4. Does Virginia have any shot at knocking off No. 8 Notre Dame?
If Northern Illinois can go into the House that Rockne built and take down the Irish, then anything is possible. Right? The Cavaliers can do (almost) everyone in college football a favor by knocking Notre Dame out of a Playoff position. They’ve already shown an ability to beat a ranked team on the road by taking down then-No. 18 Pittsburgh last week. And they’ll have at least some element of familiarity with former former Irish wide receiver/running back Chris Tyree in their lineup. In order to have any shot at all, Tony Elliott’s team will need to duplicate the defensive effort that held the Panthers to under 300 total yards and forced a pair of turnovers while getting a clean performance from talented, but erratic quarterback Anthony Colandrea.
3. What’s up with Thomas Castellanos?
Castellanos is a dual-threat quarterback who was the catalyst for Boston College’s winning season in 2023. He finished 3rd in the ACC in rushing with 1,113 yards and 13 touchdowns on the ground and 15 scores through the air. But with the arrival of new coach Bill O’Brien and the switch to a pro-style offense, Castellano’s production has dropped off considerably. He’s run for only 192 yards this season. Last week against Syracuse, he completed only 2-of-7 passes for 14 yards and an interception before leaving with an apparent injury. His replacement, FIU transfer Grayson James, came in and rallied the Eagles to a victory. It’s a performance that earned James the start for this week’s game at SMU. And Castellanos a ticket out of town. Shortly after his benching, it was announced that the junior had stepped away from the program and will enter the transfer portal.
2. Why is Louisville important to the ACC’s and Notre Dame’s at-large Playoff chances?
The Cardinals are ranked 19th in this week’s Playoff poll. But because they already have 3 losses and won’t be playing in the conference championship game, they’re effectively eliminated from getting into the top 12. But that doesn’t mean they can’t play a role in determining which teams do make it into the newly expanded postseason bracket, since all 3 of those losses are to teams ranked above them: Miami, SMU and Notre Dame. Winning out against Stanford, Pitt and Kentucky and jumping a few spots higher in the final poll would improve the strength of schedule for both ACC frontrunners while strengthening the league’s longshot chances of getting a 2nd bid. It could be helpful to the Irish should they stumble down the stretch and suffer a 2nd loss.
1. Is there anything SMU can do get more love from the Playoff Committee?
The realistic answer is probably no. If the Mustangs haven’t already done enough to catch the committee’s attention by putting together a resume that includes an 8-1 record with the only loss coming to No. 6 BYU and an offense and defense both ranked No. 2 in the ACC, then they never will. No matter what they do. They’re woefully undervalued at No. 14, especially after dropping a spot in the rankings despite not playing last week. The good news for Rhett Lashlee and his league-leading team is that they control their own fate in the Playoff race. All they have to do to take the committee out of the equation is keep winning, starting with Saturday’s home game against Boston College.
Award-winning columnist Brett Friedlander has covered the ACC and college basketball since the 1980s.
