US LBM Coaches Poll: Georgia team to beat in SEC
USA TODAY Sports’ Paul Myerberg breaks down the latest US LBM Coaches Poll and has Georgia as the SEC’s top contender after Texas blowout.
Who will play for the Atlantic Coast Conference in the conference championship game will be determined in the final weeks.
Just as it should be. With just two weeks left in the 2025 college football regular season, six teams remain alive with hopes of playing in the conference championship game. That game should give the winner a berth in the College Football Playoff, barring some true chaos in the CFP rankings.
Entering play on Saturday, Nov. 22, six teams in the conference have two losses or fewer. Four teams are tied atop the standings with one loss. However, that number will dwindle by at least one with No. 12 Georgia Tech (No. 16 CFP rankings) playing Pittsburgh at Bobby Dodd Stadium at 7 p.m. ET in Atlanta.
The Yellow Jackets and Virginia seem to be in control of their own fate. Everyone else is either hoping for help in the final weeks or could be looking at the ACC tiebreakers as the best course for them to reach the conference championship game.
The ACC championship game is scheduled for Saturday, Dec. 6, at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Here’s a look at each team’s path to an ACC championship berth ahead of Week 13.
ACC championship tiebreakers
Georgia Tech (9-1, 6-1 ACC)
- Path to ACC championship game: Beat Pittsburgh.
If the Yellow Jackets can beat the Panthers on Saturday, Nov. 22, they will be in the ACC championship game. The game against Pitt is the final ACC game of the year for Georgia Tech, and it cannot finish in a three-way tie for third place.
Back on Sept. 27, Georgia Tech beat Wake Forest 30-29 in overtime. Virginia and SMU both lost to the Demon Deacons, giving the Yellow Jackets that tiebreaker in case of a three-way tie for first.
Virginia (9-2, 6-1)
- Path to ACC championship game: Beat Virginia Tech; Or SMU loses to Louisville or Cal; Or Pitt loses to Georgia Tech or Miami
Like Georgia Tech, Virginia is in a good spot entering the final two weeks. The Cavaliers will sit back and watch the action this week during their Week 13 bye. When they return to the field, a win over in-state rival Virginia Tech should get them to the championship game, as they could finish ahead of SMU by conference opponent winning percentage.
If Virginia loses, an SMU or Pitt loss in one of their final two games of the season can also give the Cavaliers a backdoor entrance into the championship game.
The Cavaliers’ 35-31 loss to NC State on Sept. 6 counts as a non-conference game.
Pittsburgh (7-3, 5-1)
- Path to ACC championship game: Beat Georgia Tech and Miami; And one of SMU or Virginia loss
Even if Pitt wins out, it’ll need some outside help to get to the championship game, as the Panthers lose tiebreakers to SMU and Virginia in the case of a three-way tie.
The Panthers will need either the Mustangs or the Cavaliers to lose once more in conference play in addition to winning out, to get to Charlotte.
SMU (7-3, 5-1)
- Path to ACC championship game: Beat Louisville and California; And a combination of a Pitt victory against Georgia Tech and a Miami victory against Pitt
SMU’s path to a second straight appearance in the conference championship game is to win out with games left against Louisville and California. From there, the Mustangs will need Pitt to beat Georgia Tech on Nov. 22, but then lose to Miami on Nov. 29.
As things stand right now, SMU would lose a three-way tie with Georgia Tech and Virginia, but it would win a three-way tie with Pitt and Virginia.
Miami (8-2, 4-2)
- Path to ACC championship game: Beat Virginia Tech and Pitt; And Pitt win over Georgia Tech; And UNC win over Duke; And Louisville beats SMU
Despite two losses, Miami is still very much alive for a spot in the ACC championship game. The Hurricanes ― despite being in the conference since 2004 ― have never won the conference.
Miami would need to win out vs. Virginia Tech and Pitt to close out the season, but also needs the Panthers to beat Georgia Tech, Virginia to beat Virginia Tech, SMU to go 1-1 vs. Louisville and Cal, and then for UNC to topple Duke.
In the case of a two-loss logjam, Miami would get in with a four-way tiebreaker advantage over Georgia Tech, Pitt and SMU.
Duke (5-5, 4-2)
- Path to ACC championship game: Beat UNC and Wake Forest; And Pitt beats Georgia Tech and loses to Miami; And Louisville beats SMU
If the Miami scenario was crazy, a five-loss Duke team could also still get into the ACC championship game, and potentially wreck CFP hopes for the entire conference, if the Blue Devils win the conference for the first time since 1989.
For this scenario to unfold, the Blue Devils would need to beat UNC and Wake Forest to close out their season. They would then need Pitt to beat Georgia Tech and then lose to Miami, with Louisville beating SMU.
ACC tiebreaker rules
Here’s how the ACC’s tiebreaker rules work in order, according to the conference:
ACC Two-Team Tiebreakers
- A. The winner of any head-to-head matchup between the two teams (if applicable).
- B. Win percentage against all common opponents.
- C. Win percentage against common opponents based on the order of finish. This tiebreaker examines each opponent individually, progressing from top to bottom in the table, to identify a common opponent where one team has a superior result to the other.
- D. Combined win percentage of each team’s conference opponents.
- E. The team with the higher ranking by the Team Rating Score metric provided by SportSource Analytics, following the conclusion of all regular-season games.
- F. A random draw.
Three (or More) Team Tie
- A. If all teams are common opponents, then the combined head-to-head win percentage is used.
- B. If one team defeated or was defeated by all the others in the tiebreaker, they shall be removed at this step.
- C. Win percentage against all common opponents.
- D. Win percentage against common opponents based on the order of finish. This tiebreaker examines each opponent individually, progressing from top to bottom in the table, to identify a common opponent where one team has a superior result to the other.
- E. Combined win percentage of each team’s conference opponents.
- F. The team with the higher ranking by the Team Rating Score metric provided by SportSource Analytics, following the conclusion of all regular-season games.
- G. A random draw.
