By: Ryan Moreland (@ryanmoreland)
The season is almost at an end and people want to know exactly where their team stands. This series of articles has that exact goal in mind. Before we jump into the actual scenarios, let’s refresh ourselves on what you need to do to make the playoffs this season.
The top three teams from each conference will receive an automatic bid for the playoffs. That will make up the top 12 seeds in the playoffs. The final four teams to get in will be decided by a league-wide vote at the season’s end. Ties will be decided the same way as last season and here is how that looks:
| Order | Tiebreaker |
| 1 | Conference Record |
| 2 | Head-to-Head |
| 3 | Record vs common conference opponents |
| 4 | Point differential vs common conference opponents |
| 5 | Record vs common overall opponents |
| 6 | Point differential vs common overall opponents |
| 7 | Overall record |
| 8 | Overall point differential |
Since every team will play all the members of their conference, this should never get passed Head-to-Head. But I will be using these tiebreakers to rank the teams as they stand today. Now that we are caught up, let’s look at the ACC.
ACC Standings
| Team | Overall Record | Conference Record | Tiebreaker (if applicable) |
| Florida State | 5-1 | 5-0 | |
| Miami | 6-0 | 4-0 | |
| Notre Dame | 4-2 | 3-2 | Point differential vs common conference opponents |
| Clemson | 4-2 | 3-2 | Point differential vs common conference opponents |
| Pittsburgh | 2-4 | 1-4 | Head-to-Head |
| North Carolina | 2-4 | 1-4 | Head-to-head |
| Syracuse | 1-5 | 0-5 |
Right now Florida State is the conference leader, despite Miami having a better overall record. It is key to remember that conference record is what matters here. Since Florida State has the better conference record, they are above Miami.
Florida State and Miami have already punched their ticket to the playoffs. The worst they can finish in the ACC is second place. For Florida State, this is because only Miami can get to five conference wins. Miami’s reasoning is slightly more complex. Notre Dame and Clemson could tie Miami at 4-2 in conference play if the Hurricanes lost their next two games. However, Miami holds head-to-head wins over both teams and therefore wins any tie.
Florida State and Miami will meet in Week Eight, which will make that game the de facto conference championship. Whoever wins that game will win the ACC.
The battle for third place is also a two-horse race. As you can see, Notre Dame and Clemson are both tied for the third spot. Notre Dame holds the current tie-breaker, but that won’t matter soon. These teams will play each other on Thursday night. Whoever wins that game will take the tiebreaker, and ultimately, earn the automatic bid.
There is no way for Pittsburgh, North Carolina, or Syracuse to make it into the top three. Therefore, they are mathematically eliminated from the automatic bid contention. However, they all could still be in the running for the four vote-in spots. A strong finish could sway voters. Don’t stop fighting.
