Road to ACC Championship Game gets clarity — and it’s good news for the Miami Hurricanes

The No. 5 Miami Hurricanes took care of business on Saturday, rallying from an 11-point deficit in the third quarter to defeat Duke 53-31 at Hard Rock Stadium and remain undefeated.

A pair of results later in the day helped provide clarity for the Hurricanes’ path moving forward in the Atlantic Coast Conference and potentially for a spot in the 12-team College Football Playoff.

With the No. 11 Clemson Tigers falling 33-21 at home to the Louisville Cardinals and the No. 20 SMU Mustangs beating the No. 18 Pittsburgh Panthers 48-25, only two ACC teams remain undefeated in conference play: Miami (9-0, 5-0 ACC) and SMU (8-1, 5-0 ACC).

That puts the Hurricanes and Mustangs in the driver’s seat to meet in Charlotte, North Carolina, for the ACC Championship Game on Dec. 7 should they run the table with the rest of their conference slate.

A reminder: The highest five ranked conference champions are guaranteed spots in the College Football Playoff, with the top four of those teams receiving a first-round bye. The first CFP poll will be unveiled Tuesday.

Miami’s final three ACC games are at Georgia Tech (5-4, 3-3 ACC) on Nov. 9, home against Wake Forest (4-4, 2-2 ACC) on Nov. 23 and at Syracuse (6-2, 3-2 ACC) on Nov. 30.

SMU’s final three conference games are home against Boston College (4-4, 1-3 ACC) on Nov. 16, at Virginia (4-4, 2-3 ACC) on Nov. 23 and home against Cal (4-4, 0-4 ACC) on Nov. 30.

Clemson (6-2, 5-1 ACC) and Pitt (7-1, 3-1 ACC) are the only other conference teams with fewer than two losses in league play. The two face each other on Nov. 16, meaning at least one of them will have at least two league losses by the time the regular season ends.

Regardless, whoever wins that game would need at least one of Miami or SMU to drop one of its final three conference games to have a chance at making the ACC Championship Game.

Full ACC Standings

Miami Hurricanes (9-0, 5-0 ACC)

SMU Mustangs (8-1, 5-0 ACC)

Clemson Tigers (6-2, 5-1 ACC)

Pittsburgh Panthers (7-1, 3-1 ACC)

Louisville Cardinals (6-3, 4-2 ACC)

Syracuse Orange (6-2, 3-2 ACC)

Virginia Tech (5-4, 3-2 ACC)

Georgia Tech (5-4, 3-3 ACC)

Wake Forest (4-4, 2-2 ACC)

North Carolina Tar Heels (5-4, 2-3 ACC)

Duke Blue Devils (6-3, 2-3 ACC)

N.C. State Wolfpack (5-4, 2-3 ACC)

Virginia Cavaliers (4-4, 2-3 ACC)

Boston College Eagles (4-4, 1-3 ACC)

Stanford Cardinal (2-7, 1-5 ACC)

Florida State Seminoles (1-8, 1-7 ACC)

Cal Golden Bears (4-4, 0-4 ACC)