ACC Tie-Breaker Possibilities

Four Teams Alive For ACC Championship Game

Nov 23, 2008 Kyle Schurman

The battle for berths in college football's ACC Championship Game is down to four teams after the regular-season games of Nov. 22.

The winner of the two divisions in the ACC will play in the ACC football title game. The ACC Championship Game, which will be played Dec. 6 in Tampa, Fla., will match Boston College or Florida State against either Virginia Tech or Georgia Tech. Boston College and Virginia Tech control their destinies; either of them will qualify for the championship game with a win Nov. 29.

The results of a few Atlantic Coast Conference games on Nov. 29 will determine the two participants in the ACC Championship Game.

  • Maryland at Boston College
  • Virginia at Virginia Tech
  • Miami at North Carolina State

Here are the possibilities for each team still alive in each division.

Atlantic Division

  • Florida State 5-3: The Seminoles have no more conference games remaining. FSU needs Boston College to lose to Maryland Nov. 29. Florida State then would win the Atlantic Division tie-breaker after beating Maryland head to head 37-3 Nov. 22.
  • Boston College 4-3: The Eagles control their own fate. Boston College can win the Atlantic by winning at home against Maryland Nov. 29. BC would win the Atlantic Division tie-breaker after beating Florida State head to head 27-17 Nov. 15.
  • Maryland 4-3: Maryland cannot win the Atlantic. The Terps can tie Florida State for the Atlantic title by winning at Boston College Nov. 29. However, Maryland loses the Atlantic Division tie-breaker to FSU.

Coastal Division

  • Georgia Tech 5-3: Georgia Tech has no more conference games remaining. GT can only win the Coastal if Virginia wins at Virginia Tech Nov. 29. If Virginia Tech wins, Georgia Tech is eliminated because the Yellow Jackets lose a head-to-head Coastal Division tie-breaker with Virginia Tech and a three-way tie-breaker with Virginia Tech and Miami. Georgia Tech wins a head-to-head tie-breaker with Miami, or, if both VT and Miami would lose Nov. 29, Georgia Tech could win the division outright.
  • Virginia Tech 4-3: Virginia Tech controls its fate in the Coastal Division. If the Hokies win a home game with Virginia Nov. 29, they win all of the possible Coastal Division tiebreakers. VT defeated Georgia Tech head to head 20-17 on Sept. 13. VT also would win a three-way Coastal Division tie-breaker because it would have a 4-1 record against Coastal foes, while Miami would be 3-2 in the division and Georgia Tech would be 2-3.
  • Miami 4-3: Miami cannot win the Coastal. The best the Hurricanes can do is win at NC State Nov. 29, tying for the divisional title. However, Miami would lose a two-way Coastal Division tie-breaker with Georgia Tech after losing to the Yellow Jackets 41-23 Nov. 20. Miami also would lose a three-way tie-breaker to Virginia Tech.

The copyright of the article ACC Tie-Breaker Possibilities in Football is owned by Kyle Schurman. Permission to republish ACC Tie-Breaker Possibilities in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
What do you think about this article?
NOTE: Because you are not a Suite101 member, your comment will be moderated before it is viewable.
post your comment
What is 9+2?

Comments

Nov 24, 2008 12:25 AM
Guest :
GO EAGLES!
Nov 24, 2008 12:25 AM
Guest :
GO EAGLES!
Nov 24, 2008 2:17 PM
Guest :
How does Miami Loose the three way tie
Conference
GT 5-3
VT 5-3
Miami 5-3

This is off the ACC website

Three (or More) Team Tie
(Once tie has been reduced to two teams, the two-team tiebreaker format is used)

1. Combined head-to-head record among the tied teams
VT 1-1
GT 1-1
Miami 1-1
So with this tie they go to the second tie breaker.

2. Records of the tied teams within the division.
GT 2-3 out
VT 3-2
Miami 3-2

Then back to two tie breaker rules between Miami and VT

1. Head-to-head competition between the two tied teams
Miami 1-0
VT 0-1

So am I wrong and if so where am I going wrong?
Nov 24, 2008 8:20 PM
Kyle Schurman :
You're close, but Virginia Tech would have to beat Virginia this weekend to get into the tie-breaker at 5-3, which would make the Hokies 4-1 in the division, not 3-2. VT's only divisional loss is to Miami. UM would have divisional losses to North Carolina and Georgia Tech.
4 Comments