Path To Charlotte Easy To See For Notre Dame

When Notre Dame knocked off the #1-ranked team in the country for the first time in decades earlier this month, not only did the Irish raise to #2 in both the AP and Coaches polls. Not only did the Irish register the most impressive singular victory in college football this season.

The Irish also paved a clear path for themselves to the ACC Championship Game in Charlotte on Dec. 19th.

That path became even more clear after Saturday’s 45-31 win over Boston College.

In its first-ever year in a conference, Notre Dame now sits atop the ACC standings at 7-0 in league play.

Notre Dame has three regular season contests left after the coming bye – at North Carolina, home against Syracuse and at Wake Forest. The Irish have room for error and would still be guaranteed a spot in the title game even with a loss down the stretch by virtue of holding tiebreakers over Clemson and Miami, the only one-loss teams in the league.

The Irish still need to take care of business, but as far as ACC Championship Game intrigue, right now, it should be focused on potential opponents.

For Clemson, it’s easy. The Tigers were off this week before playing at Florida State, home against Pitt and at Virginia Tech.

If Clemson wins out, it will get its rematch with Notre Dame in Charlotte in a month by virtue of having handed Miami its lone loss.

For Miami, it’s simple as well. After hanging on to beat Virginia Tech on Saturday, the Hurricanes close out their schedule home against Georgia Tech, at Wake Forest and home against North Carolina.

If Miami wins out, it will need the Tigers to drop a game down the stretch and then the Hurricanes would get a shot at the Irish.

North Carolina is the only two-loss team in the conference. The Tar Heels will get their shot at Notre Dame in a couple weeks. A win would certainly keep them in the race, but they would need further stumbles from the teams at the top to have a chance at playing in Charlotte on Dec. 19th.