Virginia and SMU both win in primetime on Saturday night, and it’s easy – they’re in the ACC Championship Game on Dec. 6.
The way the 2025 ACC Football season has been playing out, it’s not likely to be that easy.
The suits in Charlotte would love Miami to play its way into the title game; so would the talking heads in Bristol, Conn., who couldn’t contain themselves from slotting the ‘Canes into the ACC’s automatic-bid slot on last night’s College Football Playoff rankings reveal show.
News flash: for Miami (9-2, 5-2 ACC) to get to the ACC title game, it’s going to take a lot of doing.
The best hope would be, Miami getting the dub at Pitt (8-3, 6-1 ACC) on Saturday, then a couple of the teams from among #8 Oklahoma (9-2), #9 Notre Dame (9-2, with a loss to Miami in Week 1), #10 Alabama (9-2, with a loss to FSU in Week 1) and #11 BYU (10-1) suffering Ls.
Likelihood of that: meh.
- Oklahoma is a 10.5-point favorite over LSU (7-4).
- Notre Dame is a 31.5-point favorite at Stanford (4-7).
- ‘Bama is a 6.5-point favorite at Auburn (5-6).
- BYU is a 17.5-point favorite over Central Florida (5-6).
The situation with #7 Ole Miss (10-1), a 7.5-point favorite at Mississippi State (5-6), is interesting.
Lane Kiffin is almost certainly bolting after the Egg Bowl, and the CFP Selection Committee folks signaled last night that Kiffin’s status for the postseason would factor into its thinking on ranking Ole Miss going forward.
Let’s say, for giggles, Ole Miss loses, Kiffin leaves town, Miami wins, one from among the 8-11 group loses, Miami doesn’t get to Charlotte – I think Miami gets us a second CFP invite.
Stay tuned, I guess.
#4 Georgia at #23 Georgia Tech | Friday 3:30 p.m. | ABC
Series: Georgia leads series, 72-41-5
Last meeting: Georgia, 44-42 (8OT) (2024)
Line: Georgia -13.5
Over/under: 59.5
Projected final score: Georgia 37, Georgia Tech 23
#12 Miami at #22 Pitt | Saturday, noon | ABC
Series: Miami leads series, 29-12-1
Last meeting: Pitt, 42-16 (2022)
Line: Miami -6.5
Over/under: 50.5
Projected final score: Miami 28, Pitt 23
Kentucky at Louisville | Saturday, noon | ACC Network
Series: Kentucky leads series, 19-16-0
Last meeting: Louisville, 41-14 (2024)
Line: Louisville -3.5
Over/under: 47.5
Projected final score: Louisville 26, Kentucky 21
Clemson at South Carolina | Saturday, noon | SEC Network
Series: Clemson leads series, 73-44-4
Last meeting: South Carolina, 17-14 (2024)
Line: South Carolina -3.5
Over/under: 46.5
Projected final score: South Carolina 24, Clemson 22
Boston College at Syracuse | Saturday, 3 p.m. | The CW
Series: Syracuse leads series, 33-24-0
Last meeting: Boston College, 37-31 (2024)
Line: Boston College -3.5
Over/under: 52.5
Projected final score: Boston College 28, Syracuse 24
Wake Forest at Duke | Saturday, 3:30 p.m. | ACC Network
Series: Duke leads series, 61-41-2
Last meeting: Duke, 23-17 (2024)
Line: Duke -1.5
Over/under: 54.5
Projected final score: Duke 28, Wake Forest 27
Florida State at Florida | Saturday, 4:30 p.m. | ESPN2
Series: Florida leads series, 38-28-2
Last meeting: Florida, 31-11 (2024)
Line: Florida -1.5
Over/under: 51.5
Projected final score: Florida 27, Florida State 25
Virginia Tech at Virginia | Saturday, 7 p.m. | ESPN
Series: Virginia Tech leads series, 62-38-5
Last meeting: Virginia Tech, 37-17 (2024)
Line: Virginia -8.5
Over/under: 53.5
Projected final score: Virginia 31, Virginia Tech 24
North Carolina at NC State | Saturday, 7:30 p.m. | ACC Network
Series: North Carolina leads series, 68-40-6
Last meeting: NC State, 35-30 (2024)
Line: NC State -7.5
Over/under: 47.5
Projected final score: NC State 27, North Carolina 20
#21 SMU at Cal | Saturday, 8 p.m. | ESPN2
Series: SMU leads series, 2-0-0
Last meeting: SMU, 38-6 (2024)
Line: SMU -13.5
Over/under: 52.5
Projected final score: SMU 38, Cal 24
#9 Notre Dame at Stanford | Saturday, 10:30 p.m. | ESPN
Series: Notre Dame leads series, 23-14-0
Last meeting: Notre Dame, 49-7 (2024)
Line: Notre Dame -31.5
Over/under: 51.5
Projected final score: Notre Dame 41, Stanford 10