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Kirk Herbstreit: Door is open for two ACC teams in College Football Playoff no matter title game result

Barkley-Truaxby: Barkley Truax11/30/24BarkleyTruax
Kirk Herbstreit
Andrew Wevers | USA TODAY Sports

The College Football Playoff race broadened after Week 13, which has made it possible for the ACC to get multiple teams in the final field of 12.

As it stands, Miami (No. 6), SMU (9) and Clemson (12), all have a legitimate path to make the playoff this season. While the ACC Championship game’s matchup still up for grabs heading into the final week of the regular season — the chaos in other conferences has ultimately benefitted the ACC’s cause according to ESPN College GameDay’s Kirk Herbstreit.

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“I think enough damage has been done to the SEC,” Herbstreit said. “I think what Georgia Tech did last night — I think, I think the door is wide open for the ACC to get two [teams] no matter who loses in Charlotte.”

The Yellow Jackets took Georgia into eight overtimes on Friday night, which led to questions about how beat up teams in the SEC are at this point in the season. All but one team (Texas) has two or more losses this season and the Bulldogs nearly lost a third.

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No. 12 Clemson moved in front of No. 13 Alabama in the most recent CFP rankings thanks to the the Crimson Tide’s loss to Oklahoma in Week 13, while both No. 6 Miami and No. 9 SMU would both be in the field if the season ended today.

Two of those three teams will duke it out in the ACC Championship game, but the odd team out may find themselves in the field as well depending on how the rest of Week 14 and the ensuing conference championship week plays out. SMU is already in the game, so the ball is in Miami and Clemson’s court.

Regarding the CFP — first thing’s first. All three teams need to win during Week 14 as Miami takes on 8-3 Syracuse on the road and SMU hosts 6-5 Cal while Clemson has the toughest matchup of all three in the Palmetto Bowl vs. South Carolina.

Wins across the board in those matchups will further strengthen the ACC’s arguement to have not only one or two — but perhaps even three teams in the field if everything goes their way.