Acc Snubbed In First College Football Playoff Rankings As Big 12 Surges Ahead

ACC commissioner Jim Philips mightiness person to double up nan number of media appearances and make judge each factoid is readily disposable aft Tuesday’s uncover of nan first College Football Playoff action committee Top 25 ranking.

Because make nary bones astir it, nan ACC is successful heavy problem to repetition past season’s feat and nonstop aggregate teams to nan playoff. The convention hasn’t mislaid nan warfare by immoderate means, but it is losing nan first conflict pinch newfound adjacent nan Big 12 erstwhile it comes to nan committee’s opinion. 

Badly.

The highest-ranked ACC squad successful nan first rankings was No. 14 Virginia, which has a lone nonconference nonaccomplishment to … an ACC squad successful NC State. 

That’s nan aforesaid Wolfpack that conscionable whipped, according to committee chair and Baylor diversion head Mack Rhoades, antecedently undefeated Georgia Tech successful nan trenches to driblet nan Yellow Jackets to No. 17 down two-loss Vanderbilt. No. 15 Louisville slots successful down No. 10 Notre Dame, nan Red River duo of No. 11 Texas and No. 12 Oklahoma and two-loss Big 12 squad Utah astatine No. 13. 

“I deliberation you tin opportunity this astir nan ACC, [there’s] not, astatine slightest astatine this point, a batch of nonconference signature wins,” Rhoades said. “We looked astatine Georgia Tech astatine North Carolina State, and it conscionable felt for illustration North Carolina State dominated Georgia Tech connected some sides of nan ball. A bad nighttime for Georgia Tech. But again, a batch of shot still to beryllium played.”

That’s a achy reality for nan convention agency successful Charlotte, but a reality they dream nan teams successful nan hunt tin flooded complete nan adjacent fewer weeks.

What’s worse for nan convention is nan plight of Miami, nan lone programme that could rightfully declare to person done its occupation earlier ACC play began. The Hurricanes hit Notre Dame astatine location successful that classic Labor Day game, blew retired American (and Group of 5) contender South Florida, positive won nan authorities title complete Florida and Florida State. 

For arsenic beardown arsenic nan Canes looked early connected though, they person faltered conscionable erstwhile trying to time off a lasting belief for committee members. They turned nan shot complete aggregate times to suffer a winnable location crippled against Louisville successful mid-October and past coughed up an overtime crippled against SMU past weekend.

Miami has fallen from No. 2 successful nan polls successful early October to No. 18 successful nan first CFP rankings. / Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

It’s telling that Mario Cristobal’s squad is now 8 spots down nan Notre Dame squad they hit and apparently good down successful nan pecking bid of Virginia, Louisville and Georgia Tech. Miami doesn’t person a favorable way to moreover make it to nan ACC title crippled fixed immoderate of nan tiebreakers involved. Based connected Tuesday’s results, it appears an at-large bid is simply a distant dream.

“We each judge Miami has sewage a talented squad erstwhile you look astatine their roster,” Rhoades said. “Certainly deliberation they’re really bully defensively. I deliberation if they tin possibly correct immoderate of nan woes that they’ve had conscionable successful position of turnovers, and surely connected nan violative broadside of nan ball, they tin surely person an opportunity to triumph games.

“I deliberation for Miami, I’m conscionable going to opportunity it: For Miami, it’s astir consistency and their deficiency of consistency. We conscionable request to spot much consistency retired of Miami headed down nan stretch.”

Ah, truthful only nan point that Miami has not seemed to cobble together astatine immoderate constituent successful nan last, say, 24 years? Not awesome for Phillips aliases anybody hoping to rate an other CFP cheque adjacent month. 

Maybe arsenic concerning is nan deficiency of respect being shown to nan ACC successful general. Pitt did sneak successful astatine No. 24 (and it would thief a ton if nan Panthers could sound disconnected Notre Dame astatine location successful a fewer weeks), but Louisville has a bully lawsuit to beryllium acold higher than it is. The Cardinals person much classed wins (two) than No. 9 Oregon aliases nan No. 10 Irish (one) and suffered their only blemish to Virginia, nan No. 14 team, successful overtime. 

Alas, Jeff Brohm’s squad would request to climb astatine slightest 4 spots to moreover person a changeable astatine making nan section and needs to leapfrog 3 two-loss teams to do so—including Utah, nan Big 12’s third-best team. 

“Texas Tech, again, awesome respect for them. Going into Utah, and again, we’ve sewage Utah classed astatine 13, but going into Utah and winning astatine Utah, we thought, was a really, really quality, value win,” Rhoades added. “Texas Tech, conscionable a really, really bully shot team. Look, we tried to thief ESPN retired pinch their ratings by getting BYU and Texas Tech together pinch GameDay successful Lubbock, truthful bask that.”

They astir assuredly will not beryllium successful nan convention who now considers that trio of teams atop their latest enemy’s list.

The committee has sent nan connection intelligibly and loudly to some coasts of nan ACC footprint that there’s a ton of activity near to do from now until Selection Sunday if nan convention wants to do thing much than nonstop its champion to nan bracket.

More College Football connected Sports Illustrated

Listen to SI’s caller assemblage sports podcast, Others Receiving Votes, beneath aliases connected Apple and Spotify. Watch nan show connected SI’s YouTube channel.