There was a lot of complaining in ACC circles about where many of the ACC teams ended up in the first CFP rankings.
Other than Louisville, I found it hard to get too worked up, to be honest.
A result Saturday underscored why the ACC and its teams and fans simply can’t complain. Duke 34 UConn 37.
Why does this non-descript out-of-conference game matter so much? It’s because Duke at 5-4 (4-1) still has a realistic path to the ACC Championship, and that’s really bad for the league.
Duke got blown out by Illinois 45-19, and now has two non P4 losses to be 1-3 out of conference. For that matter SMU at 7-3 (5-1) has losses to Baylor and TCU. Not nearly as unsightly as Duke, but still, when your championship game teams have such poor OOC results it’s a black eye on the league.
When you do have those noteworthy OOC wins, you have to cash in, and there were some of those. Miami did beat Notre Dame, but dropped two ACC games to stand 7-2 (3-2), and be on the outside looking in for Charlotte. Florida State defeated Alabama, got into the top 10, and now sits 4-5 (1-5).
The combination of the teams with the best OOC wins flailing in league play, while teams that played poorly OOC, but with good league records, is a mismatch that no other P4 league is dealing with.
It can still be salvaged, though. Miami can still finish 10-2 and ranked 18 today, will move up to at least 16 with the Louisville and Virginia losses ahead of them, and 3 games left to play. They win over Notre Dame still resonates, and the Miami team that won its final 4 games will be increasingly difficult to leave out.
Pitt at 7-2 and ranked 24, had 5 teams ranked between 14-23 lose in front of them. Pitt is going to move up 3-5 spots, and with a resume-enhancing game with Notre Dame upcoming, and then ranked Georgia Tech and Miami left, you try leaving them out at 10-2 and on a 8-game winning streak even if they don’t win the ACC.
That brings us to 8-1 Georgia Tech, currently 17 and likely to be 15 in the next poll. They finish 11-1 with a win over Georgia, and they are a lock.
You see it goes both ways. The OOC results leave ACC fans without much room to complain, but the opportunities are there that ACC teams still can make a strong case for being a multi-bid league.
Will an ACC team take control of this race, and can it not be Duke? Sorry Dukies, you performed so poorly out of conference that nobody wants to see you in Charlotte.
