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It’s going to take until Tuesday night when the Playoff Committee unveils its newest rankings to find out for sure. But based on the chaos that has taken place around the country this weekend, things figure to shake out favorably for the ACC.
If nothing else, losses by Big 12 contenders BYU and Colorado on Saturday should solidify the ACC’s claim to a first-round bye for its champion.
And while it’s still too early to know if the Committee will find an excuse to leapfrog another 2-loss SEC team ahead of 1-loss SMU and/or Miami again this week, defeats by No. 5 Indiana, No. 7 Alabama and No. 9 Ole Miss at least provide a realistic chance of 2 ACC teams being ranked in the top 10 heading into the final week of the regular season.
The 8th-ranked Hurricanes and No. 13 Mustangs kept that possibility on the table by avoiding the upset bug and remaining on track to meet for the conference championship in Charlotte in 2 weeks.
They went about their business in different manners. SMU led from start to finish on the way to a 33-7 beatdown of Virginia in Charlottesville to clinch their trip to Charlotte. Miami had to work a little harder before finally pulling away from Wake Forest in the fourth quarter for a 42-14 win to move within 1 win of joining the Mustangs there.
But the bottom line is the same.
The ACC leaders aren’t going to make it easy on the Committee if it’s intent on sticking it to the conference again this year.
That’s only one of the things we learned about the ACC in Week 12. Here are some of the other big takeaways from around the conference.
SMU’s best week ever. Or at least the past 40 years
It’s been a big week for Mustangs.
On Friday, soon-to-be ACC Coach of the Year Rhett Lashlee was rewarded with a contract extension that will at least serve as a deterrent for programs thinking about luring him away. A day later, Lashlee’s team left no doubt about its status as an ACC frontrunner by dominating Virginia in all 3 phases of the game.
In doing so, SMU earned a trip to a conference championship game for the second straight season. In two different conferences.
How big a deal is that?
Huge.
The Mustangs, who won the 2023 American Athletic Conference title, aren’t just the first team transitioning from the Group of 5 level to a power conference to qualify for a league title game since the current National Championship Game format came into existence in 1998. They’re also the first such team to reach double-digit victories in their first season after the move.
Ward’s assault on the record book continues
Even as Cam Ward’s pursuit of the Heisman Trophy has begun to lose steam, his assault on the Miami record book remains full speed ahead.
Saturday against Wake Forest, the transfer quarterback added 2 more milestones to the school record for touchdowns in a season he set 2 weeks ago against Georgia Tech. By going 27-of-38 for 280 yards, Ward surpassed Bernie Kosar’s records for most passing yards and most completions in a season.
Kosar amassed 3,642 yards on 262 completions in 1984. Ward now has 3,774 yards on 268 completions with at least 2 more games remaining this year.
Despite his effort, which included 2 more passing touchdowns (extending that school record to 34), a rushing score and a 2-point conversion completion, Ward wasn’t able to regain any of the ground he’s lost over the past few weeks in his Heisman race with Colorado’s Travis Hunter and Boise State’s Ashton Jeanty.
He’ll have next week’s game at Syracuse and possibly another against SMU in the ACC Championship Game before the ballots are counted to impress Heisman voters and move back into serious contention for college football’s top award.
Panthers are stuck in reverse
Pitt’s 2024 season has been a study in streaks.
The Panthers started the year by winning their first 7 games for their best start since Dan Marion was their quarterback in 1982. They were undefeated in the ACC and ranked 18th in the first College Football Playoff poll when they traveled to Dallas to take on SMU for a share of the league lead.
And then the bottom dropped out.
Pat Narduzzi’s team got spanked 48-25 by the Mustangs and have yet to recover. Their losing streak reached 4 on Saturday with an even uglier 37-9 shellacking at the hands of Louisville in a game that saw it outgained 505-265 with 3 different quarterbacks throwing interceptions.
Some of Pitt’s regression can be chalked up to injuries. Among the key players that have gone down are starting quarterback Eli Holstein, who suffered what appeared to be a serious leg injury Saturday after missing last week’s game against Clemson while in concussion protocol, left tackle Branson Taylor, wide receiver Censere Lee and running back Daniel Carter.
The Panthers’ season is following a similar script to the one written by Syracuse 2 seasons ago in which the Orange dropped 5 straight after starting 6-0. The good news for the Panthers is that Syracuse finally snapped its losing streak by beating Boston College in its regular season finale.
By chance, Pitt is scheduled to finish out its regular season schedule next Saturday against … Boston College.
A big-time performance to win The Big Game
The ACC got its first taste of the Cal-Stanford rivalry on Saturday. And it was a treat.
No, nothing crazy happened.
The Stanford band stayed off the field. But there was plenty of drama, the kind that has become the trademark of a rivalry that is among the most underappreciated in college football.
The Bears rallied from a 21-7 deficit late in the third quarter to win 24-21 for their 4th straight victory against the Cardinal. The winning points were scored with just under 3 minutes remaining when Fernando Mendoza hit Jonathan Brady with a 22-yard touchdown pass that completed an epic 99-yard drive.
It was a comeback reminiscent of the kind former Cal quarterback Aaron Rodgers has become famous for engineering.
And as luck would have it, Rodgers was in the house on Saturday. He and the rest of his 2004 team were on hand to be honored on the 20th anniversary of their 10-2 season that saw them rise as high as No. 4 in the nation. Rodgers gave this year’s team a pep talk before the game.
“As a kid when you watch Aaron Rodgers, Jared Goff, Tom Brady, go on that field and they lead the comeback, game-winning drive,” an emotional Mendoza said afterward. “It’s exactly what I thought of there.”
An even dozen bowl teams
OK, so only 11 have officially qualified for the postseason. But with 5-win teams Virginia and Virginia Tech playing each other next week in Blacksburg, the ACC is guaranteed to have at least 12 of its 17 teams in bowls this year.
And it could end up with a baker’s dozen if NC State continues its recent dominance of North Carolina.
Boston College and Cal became the latest to reach the 6-win mark to become bowl-eligible on Saturday with wins against the Tar Heels and Stanford. NC State, and both of the Virginia teams all lost in their bids to get No. 6 this weekend.
Florida State, Stanford and Wake Forest are all eliminated from postseason contention, although the Deacons could still conceivably sneak in at 5-7 if there aren’t enough 6-win teams to fill all the bowl slots and their Academic Progress Rate is the highest among available programs.
Award-winning columnist Brett Friedlander has covered the ACC and college basketball since the 1980s.
