Live animals everywhere just got nervous........
On a side note, Notre Dame hosts USC before hosting us, the Tigers host GT prior to traveling to Raleighwood.
This time, it wasn't just #Pac12AfterDark.
Upsets were contagious in Week 7, reminding everyone how difficult it is to finish the season undefeated and shaking up the College Football Playoff picture just two weeks before the selection committee announces its first ranking of the season on Oct. 31.
Four Associated Press top-10 teams and five unbeaten teams lost this week, and seven ranked teams lost to unranked teams. That was just one shy of the most in a single week in AP poll history (since 1936). So now what?
Here's a fresh look at where each conference stands:
ACC
Lead contenders: Clemson, NC State, Miami
Lesson learned in Week 7: Clemson can still finish in the top four as a one-loss conference champion, just as it did during last season's national championship run, but it's going to need some help along the way. Wins against beleaguered Florida State and Louisville aren't going to boost Clemson's résumé like they did a year ago, when the Tigers had to overcome a home loss to Pittsburgh on Nov. 12.
There are different variables at work in the ACC this season, as the balance of power has shifted, and NC State and undefeated Miami are now leading their respective division races. After Clemson's shocking loss at Syracuse on Friday night, NC State is the only team left in the Atlantic Division that controls its own destiny. It also doesn't help Clemson that Auburn lost to LSU to drop to 5-2. (Clemson beat Auburn in Week 2.) Clemson needs to first get starting quarterback Kelly Bryant healthy, and he has a bye week to recover from a nagging ankle injury and concussion before facing Georgia Tech. For Clemson to win the ACC Atlantic, it has to win out and Syracuse has to lose again.
How concerned the league should be: As of this week, not very. The ACC was fortunate that Miami beat Georgia Tech and NC State defeated Pitt because the league still has three potential CFP contenders. Clemson travels to Raleigh to play the Wolfpack on Nov. 4 in what could be a matchup of top-10 teams. Clemson's win against Auburn took a hit after the Tigers lost to LSU, but it still carries more weight than any nonconference wins from Washington, Penn State, Ohio State and Wisconsin.
Who can make a move: NC State. The Wolfpack head into a bye week and will begin preparing for a two-week stretch that could change the perception of the program. They head to Notre Dame on Oct. 28 before hosting Clemson the following week. Should the Wolfpack win both of those games against two CFP contenders, it would catapult them from afterthought to contender, and the season-opening loss to South Carolinacould be forgiven. If NC State loses at Notre Dame, though, it also would lose its shot at the playoff. And if it were to go on to dethrone Clemson as the ACC champ, that would imperil the league's CFP chances.
http://www.espn.com/college-footbal...gars-lose-shake-college-football-playoff-race
On a side note, Notre Dame hosts USC before hosting us, the Tigers host GT prior to traveling to Raleighwood.
This time, it wasn't just #Pac12AfterDark.
Upsets were contagious in Week 7, reminding everyone how difficult it is to finish the season undefeated and shaking up the College Football Playoff picture just two weeks before the selection committee announces its first ranking of the season on Oct. 31.
Four Associated Press top-10 teams and five unbeaten teams lost this week, and seven ranked teams lost to unranked teams. That was just one shy of the most in a single week in AP poll history (since 1936). So now what?
Here's a fresh look at where each conference stands:
ACC
Lead contenders: Clemson, NC State, Miami
Lesson learned in Week 7: Clemson can still finish in the top four as a one-loss conference champion, just as it did during last season's national championship run, but it's going to need some help along the way. Wins against beleaguered Florida State and Louisville aren't going to boost Clemson's résumé like they did a year ago, when the Tigers had to overcome a home loss to Pittsburgh on Nov. 12.
There are different variables at work in the ACC this season, as the balance of power has shifted, and NC State and undefeated Miami are now leading their respective division races. After Clemson's shocking loss at Syracuse on Friday night, NC State is the only team left in the Atlantic Division that controls its own destiny. It also doesn't help Clemson that Auburn lost to LSU to drop to 5-2. (Clemson beat Auburn in Week 2.) Clemson needs to first get starting quarterback Kelly Bryant healthy, and he has a bye week to recover from a nagging ankle injury and concussion before facing Georgia Tech. For Clemson to win the ACC Atlantic, it has to win out and Syracuse has to lose again.
How concerned the league should be: As of this week, not very. The ACC was fortunate that Miami beat Georgia Tech and NC State defeated Pitt because the league still has three potential CFP contenders. Clemson travels to Raleigh to play the Wolfpack on Nov. 4 in what could be a matchup of top-10 teams. Clemson's win against Auburn took a hit after the Tigers lost to LSU, but it still carries more weight than any nonconference wins from Washington, Penn State, Ohio State and Wisconsin.
Who can make a move: NC State. The Wolfpack head into a bye week and will begin preparing for a two-week stretch that could change the perception of the program. They head to Notre Dame on Oct. 28 before hosting Clemson the following week. Should the Wolfpack win both of those games against two CFP contenders, it would catapult them from afterthought to contender, and the season-opening loss to South Carolinacould be forgiven. If NC State loses at Notre Dame, though, it also would lose its shot at the playoff. And if it were to go on to dethrone Clemson as the ACC champ, that would imperil the league's CFP chances.
http://www.espn.com/college-footbal...gars-lose-shake-college-football-playoff-race
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