Pitt Football Controls its Destiny in the ACC

Believe it or not, Pitt is the only team in the ACC that currently has complete control of its own destiny.

There are four teams in the ACC currently undefeated in the conference.

Clemson is 5-0, Miami and SMU are 4-0 and Pitt is 3-0. Of course, by the end of the season, they will all have played eight conference games. However, only the Panthers can guarantee a spot in the ACC championship if they handle business.

Thanks to Reddit user “empurrfekt,” a potential path forward — an unlikely path considering it requires a handful of teams winning out — has been laid out. And it comes down to tie-breakers in a new division-less ACC.

Clemson, Miami and SMU don’t play each other this season, and all three will have played Florida State and Louisville, which would make conference records of conference opponents very important. If all three win out, it would create a three-way tie broken by conference opponents’ conference records since there wouldn’t be any head-to-head records and identical records against shared opponents.

As it currently stands, Clemson has the edge over Miami and SMU in regard to conference opponents’ conference records.

Of course, Pitt can wreck that. If the Panthers win out, they’ll avoid any tie-breakers (since there are games against SMU and Clemson) and secure an ACC championship game berth.

Now, for the reasons stated above, it’s unlikely that a three-team tie-breaker will be needed. But as it currently stands, Pitt is the only school to control its destiny. The conference will work itself out over the next month, and Pitt has its work cut out.

Pitt remaining schedule 

Nov. 2 — at No. 20 SMU (7-1, 4-0)

Nov. 9 — Virginia (4-4, 2-3)

Nov. 16 — No. 11 Clemson (6-1, 5-0)

Nov. 23 — at Louisville (5-3, 3-2)

Nov. 30 — at Boston College (4-4, 1-3)

Pitt has its toughest test of the season this weekend at SMU, the first time the Panthers will travel to Dallas, Texas. And it’s a major opportunity to make a statement against one of the conference favorites.

ESPN gives Miami (53%), Clemson (22%) and SMU (21%) a much better chance to win the ACC than Pitt (3%). So, a win against SMU, before an “easier” opponent in Virginia, would set up a major opportunity against Clemson in the middle of November.

Pitt controls its destiny. The toughest games are still ahead, but the Panthers are in prime position to make some noise.

It will likely come down to Pitt combining its offensive firepower with a suffocating defense. Eli Holstein and the offense led the way to a 5-0 start, and Kyle Louis and the defense secured the last two wins. If the two units can play complementary football in the second half of the season, the Panthers will be dangerous.

“We’re 7-0 at this point, and a win has come from each phase of football,” Ben Sauls said after the Syracuse win. “Each of the three phases, special teams has won games, offense has won games, defense has won games and then all together we’ve won games as a team. If we continue to do that, we’re gonna be really dangerous. … ACC needs to watch out.”