By: Ryan Moreland (@ryanmoreland)
Week 7 is over and we only have one week remaining in the regular season. Just one more game for teams to sure up their playoff spot. Before we look at how the ACC looks right now, let’s take a look at what it takes to earn a playoff spot.
How to Make the Playoffs
The top three teams from each conference will automatically earn a playoff spot. After that, there will be a league-wide vote on who the last four teams should be. If there is a tie within the top three teams, the following tiebreakers will be used (in order) to break the tie.
| 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 |
ACC Standings
| Team | Overall Record | Conference Record |
| North Carolina | 5-2 | 4-0 |
| Clemson | 3-4 | 2-2 |
| Miami | 3-4 | 2-2 |
| Notre Dame | 2-5 | 2-3 |
| Syracuse | 2-5 | 2-3 |
| Florida State | 3-4 | 1-3 |
North Carolina locked up the top spot with a win over Miami this week. They will win the ACC Conference Championship, earn an automatic bid, and lock up a top 4 seed for the playoffs.
Clemson holds a head-to-head tiebreaker over Miami, which is critical for them now. If the Tigers win this week they will lock up second place in the ACC. However, that will not be easy. Clemson heads to North Carolina for Rivalry Week. A loss would tie them back with Notre Dame and Syracuse. Clemson beat Notre Dame but lost to Syracuse earlier this season. That means a tie would be decided by point differential within the conference (more on that later).
Miami is also a win away from punching their ticket. If they beat Florida State they are in. However, a loss would tie them with Syracuse, Notre Dame, and Florida State. If Miami and Clemson both lose, then everyone except North Carolina would be tied for 2nd place. We could be in for a wild finish in the ACC.
Notre Dame and Syracuse are both finished with conference play. Their playoff hopes are tied to the Clemson and/or Miami losing this week. Any scenario where the Tigers and/or Hurricanes lose results in point differential against common conference opponents to be the deciding factor.
Florida State may be in last place right now, but they are still alive. A win over Miami ties them with Miami, Notre Dame, and Syracuse (and possibly Clemson). Again, this would once again lead to the point differential tiebreaker.
Since the point differential is likely to be a key factor in this conference here is a breakdown of where each of these teams stands right now in point differential.
| Team | Point Differential in Conference |
| Miami | +38 |
| Clemson | -4 |
| Florida State | -7 |
| Notre Dame | -34 |
| Syracuse | -42 |
Keep in mind that the vote-in is still a possibility, so winning out-of-conference games for Notre Dame and Syracuse this week is still very important. Good luck to all six teams in the ACC.
