It will be Clemson or Miami in the football Final Four, not both.
This was a great week for the ACC, as Clemson rose to No. 2 in the College Football Playoff rankings and still-unbeaten Miami moved up to No. 3. But the ACC has less of a chance to get both into the national semifinals than, say, the SEC.
Clemson, which has The Citadel and South Carolina left in the regular season, needs to win out to stay in the top four. Miami, with Virginia and Pitt remaining, clearly has to do the same. They will then meet in the ACC championship game on December 2 n Charlotte, with the winner answering affirmatively the question, “Who’s In?”
Should Miami beat the Tigers in a close game, Clemson could still get in due to its body of work and its status as a college football power. I can’t imagine the committee sticking with Miami unless the Canes lose, say, an overtime thriller to Clemson. But one ACC team in for the third straight year is great for the once-woeful conference reputation in football.
Should Auburn beat Alabama in the Iron Bowl and then lose to Georgia in the SEC championship game, the Southeastern Conference could sneak two teams into the playoffs. It depends if Oklahoma can run the table and then win the Big 12 title game against either Oklahoma State or TCU. But a lot still has to happen for the Big Ten to get a team in for a fourth straight year.
Two-loss Ohio State needs to pound Michigan and then blow out undefeated Wisconsin in the Big Ten title game, or the Badgers need to do the same to the Buckeyes to overcome their soft schedule and make it into the Final Four. If Wisconsin does that and remains unbeaten, the committee would have a hard time leaving out a 13-0 team from the Big Ten. That would be a real heartburn of a decision for those guys.
For the time being, however, it is cool to see two ACC teams in the top four and, hopefully, neither Clemson nor Miami will slip up before getting to Charlotte. Miami has a lot of street cred right now with its lopsided wins over Virginia Tech and Notre Dame the last two weeks, and its gold turnover chain has become the coolest trademark in college football.
U fans from their golden days in the Orange Bowl are coming back into the fold, and a Miami team that lucked out several wins along the way is now playing as well as any team in the country.
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