A chaotic Week 6 left the College Football Playoff projections in disarray after shocking losses by powerhouses like Alabama, Missouri, Michigan, USC, and even Group of Five darling UNLV. With so many upsets, the road to the playoff has shifted dramatically for several teams.
The ACC managed to escape relatively unscathed from the Week 6 storm. Miami, however, nearly fumbled their undefeated record, needing yet another controversial officiating decision in their nail-biting win over Cal to stay perfect. Still, their brush with defeat didn’t go unnoticed.
USA TODAY’s Erick Smith responded to the close call by dropping the Hurricanes from his coveted top-four playoff seeds, pushing Dabo Swinney’s Clemson Tigers into prime position for an automatic CFP bid.
Below, you’ll find the updated outlook on which ACC teams are poised to make a run in the latest College Football Playoff projections. Additionally, we’ve outlined the bowl games each ACC squad is projected to compete in as we look ahead to Week 7 of this wild season.
College Football Playoff Projections
While Miami is no longer the autobid winner in the ACC, the ‘Canes still get a spot in the 12-team playoff as the No. 9 seed. That pits them against No. 8 seed Penn State, who Miami would face on the road. The winner of that game would face the Texas Longhorns, the No. 1 overall seed, in the Sugar Bowl.
Clemson earns the No. 3 overall seed, where they would play in the Peach Bowl against the winner between the Notre Dame Fighting Irish and the Oregon Ducks.
Other Bowl Games
10 other ACC programs are projected to play in bowl games after Week 6, which would give fans of the conference a total of 12 bowl games to tune into this winter.
Below is a look at each projected ACC bowl matchup, which for the first time this season includes the 4-1 Virginia Cavaliers:
NC State Wolfpack vs. Iowa Hawkeyes (Duke’s Mayo Bowl)
SMU Mustangs vs. LSU Tigers (Gator Bowl)
Virginia Tech Hokies vs. USC Trojans (Sun Bowl)
Louisville Cardinals vs. Memphis Tigers (Military Bowl)
Pittsburgh Panthers vs. Texas Tech Red Raiders (Pop-Tarts Bowl)
Syracuse Orange vs. Nebraska Cornhuskers (Pinstripe Bowl)
Boston College Eagles vs. Tulane Green Wave (Fenway Bowl)
Duke Blue Devils vs. Utah Utes (Holiday Bowl)
Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets vs. Arkansas Razorbacks (Birmingham Bowl)
Virginia Cavaliers vs. South Carolina Gamecocks (Gasparilla Bowl)