Paul Finebaum on ACC chances of making College Football Playoff
Wake Forest’s loss to North Carolina in Week 10 has seemingly put an end to the ACC’s hopes at making the College Football Playoff. The Demon Deacons again dominated offensively, but the Tar Heels did the same, sneaking away with a 58-55 victory in Chapel Hill. According to Paul Finebaum, the Wake Forest loss didn’t even have to happen and the ACC could have still had a shot.
Wake Forest and UNC faced off on Saturday in a non-conference showdown despite both teams being in the ACC. Instead, the two teams agreed to play anyways, and Finebaum believes that decision costed the ACC and Wake Forest a shot at the CFP.
“It’s over,” Finebaum said of the ACC’s College Football Playoff chances. “And this is so interesting because the ACC has been part of the playoffs from the beginning, even going back to the year before the playoffs, Florida State won the the last BCS National Championship. And it didn’t have to happen.
“What I mean by that is Wake Forest did not have to play North Carolina. This was not a conference game. This is something that because they’re in state rivals, they play the game anyway and it ended up costing Wake Forest a chance. Now having said all that, I’m still not sure Wake Forest could have gotten in. But now it’s over.”
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The ACC had three teams ranked in the initial CFP rankings
When the initial College Football Playoff rankings were revealed on Tuesday night, three ACC teams found themselves inside the top 25. Wake Forest was the highest ranked ACC team, cracking the top ten in the ninth spot. NC State came in at 19 while Pittsburgh rounded out the top 25.
Wake Forest likely had a tough road ahead of them as far as the playoff was concerned. Finebaum isn’t convinced that the ACC could have made it in this year anyways. But the loss on Saturday essentially eliminates the ACC from the discussion.
The ACC has had a team in the College Football Playoff every year since it was first introduced in the 2014-2015 season. Florida State made it in the initial year, and Clemson has been there in every year since. But with the ACC being down this year, that streak will be coming to an end.