ACC title game scenarios: How Georgia Tech, Pitt, Miami can qualify

The Final Weeks of the 2025 College Football Season

As the 2025 college football regular season reaches its final stretch, the race for the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) championship game is heating up. With just two weeks left, six teams remain in contention, each with a unique path to securing a spot in the conference title showdown.

The ACC championship game is scheduled for Saturday, Dec. 6, at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina. This game not only determines the conference champion but also offers a potential berth in the College Football Playoff, assuming no major chaos in the rankings.

Six Teams in the Running

Entering Week 13, six teams have two losses or fewer, making them eligible for the ACC championship game. Four of these teams are tied at one loss, setting the stage for an intense final stretch of the season.

Here’s a breakdown of each team's path to the championship game:

Virginia (9-2, 6-1)

Virginia is in a strong position entering the final week. They have a bye in Week 13 and will return to play against in-state rival Virginia Tech. A win over their rivals would likely secure their spot in the championship game, as they could finish ahead of SMU by conference opponent winning percentage.

If Virginia loses, a loss by Pittsburgh against Miami could still give them a chance through a backdoor route. Their non-conference loss to NC State on Sept. 6 counts as a non-conference game, which helps their overall standing.

Pittsburgh (8-3, 6-1)

Pittsburgh needs to beat Miami to stay in the running. However, even if they win, they’ll need outside help to get to the championship game. In the event of a three-way tie, the Panthers lose tiebreakers to both SMU and Virginia.

To make it to Charlotte, the Panthers will need either SMU or Virginia to lose once more in conference play while also winning out.

SMU (8-3, 6-1)

SMU’s path to the championship game is straightforward: beat California. If they do that, they can also qualify with a loss by Pittsburgh to Miami. As things stand, SMU would win a three-way tie with Pitt and Virginia.

Miami (8-2, 4-2)

Despite two losses, Miami is still very much in the hunt for the ACC championship game. The Hurricanes have never won the conference title, and they'll need to win out against Virginia Tech and Pitt to close out the season.

Additionally, they’ll need the Panthers to beat Georgia Tech, Virginia to beat Virginia Tech, SMU to go 1-1 against Louisville and Cal, and UNC to defeat 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.

Georgia Tech (9-2, 6-2 ACC)

Georgia Tech missed a key opportunity to get into the ACC championship game on Nov. 22. Now, they need both Virginia and SMU to lose in the final weekend of the season. If that happens, the Yellow Jackets would get in due to a win over a common opponent — Wake Forest — earlier in the season.

Virginia and SMU both lost to the Demon Deacons, giving Georgia Tech that tiebreaker in case of a three-way tie for first.

Duke (5-5, 4-2)

Duke, a five-loss team, could still make it to the ACC championship game under certain circumstances. For this to happen, the Blue Devils would need to beat UNC and Wake Forest to close out their season. They would also need Pitt to beat Georgia Tech and then lose to Miami, with Louisville beating SMU.

ACC Tiebreaker Rules

The ACC has specific rules for determining the conference champion in case of ties. Here’s how the tiebreakers work:

ACC Two-Team Tiebreakers

A. 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.
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.
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.
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.
G. A random draw.