Over the last several days I have heard this over and over again. And its not just coming from the national media or a rival fanbase. It’s also coming from Clemson fans.
This is what I have heard on the radio and read in my text messages, on X, Facebook, Instagram and message boards… “Clemson backed its way into the ACC Championship Game.”
There’s no more of an inaccurate statement than that one.
Sure the Tigers were helped when Syracuse beat then No. 6 Miami (10-2 overall) to prevent the Hurricanes from advancing to Saturday’s ACC Championship Game, but Clemson still earned its slot.
How is that, you ask?
The Tigers (9-3 overall) were 7-1 in ACC play. Miami was 6-2. That’s how.
There was no crazy tiebreakers or anything of that nature.
Clemson was literally, based on wins and losses in ACC competition, the second best team in the ACC this year in terms of conference standings. SMU (11-1 overall) was 8-0, and obviously the top team in the standings.
According to the ACC bylaws, the top two teams in the standings, based on ACC competition, will play in the championship game, which will be Saturday at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte.
It does not matter what the overall record is for the teams. The ACC record is all that matters when it comes to getting the two best teams to play in the championship game.
Here are the final ACC standings with the conference records:
- SMU 8-0
- Clemson 7-1
- Miami 6-2
- Syracuse 5-3
- Louisville 5-3
- Georgia Tech 5-3
- Duke 5-3
- Virginia Tech 4-4
- Boston College 4-4
- Pitt 3-5
- NC State 3-5
- UNC 3-5
- Virginia 3-5
- Cal 2-6
- Wake Forest 2-6
- Stanford 2-6
- Florida State 1-7
“I am proud of our team,” Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney said. “We did not accomplish all of our regular season goals, but we did enough to be one of two teams out of 17 to earn the opportunity and qualify for our championship.”
You see that, Clemson earned the opportunity and qualified for the right to play for another ACC Championship. Nobody in the history of the game has played for it more or won it more.
Saturday will be the Tigers’ 10th trip to the ACC Championship Game, all under Swinney. They are 8-1 all-time in the championship game and 7-0 at Bank of America Stadium.
In 2016, the Tigers beat Virginia Tech in Orlando, Fla., to win the title, while their lone defeat came to Georgia Tech in Tampa, Fla., in 2009.
The Tigers have won eight straight in the ACC Championship Game and are going for their already record 22nd all-time ACC Championship. It would also be there 28 conference championship overall.
And if the Tigers are able to beat No. 8 SMU on Saturday (8 p.m., ABC) to win another ACC Championship and clinch a spot in the College Football Playoff, you better darn well believe they earned it.