Virginia concluded its regular season with a win against rival Virginia Tech, wrapping up a 10-2 regular season with a 7-1 conference record that kept the Wahoos at the top of the ACC standings. SMU also faced a win-and-in scenario heading into its finale at Cal, but a 38-35 defeat to the Bears opened the door to conference tiebreaker chaos.

A former Clemson offensive coordinator now leads a surging ACC contender into Charlotte, leaning on everything he learned during the Tigers’ championship era.

Sporting News has the same 12 teams in the College Football Playoff as it did after Week 13, but the matchups have shifted.