By Carlos Pineda
SouthernPigskin.com

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11 ACC teams are eligible for postseason play this season.

Game of the Week

No. 24 Duke 27, North Carolina 25 x94 As Duke players rang the “Victory Bell”, it affirmed that the Blue Devils are the best team in the ACC Coastal Division and secured a spot versus Florida State in the league’s championship game next week in Charlotte.

It’s quite amazing what David Cutcliffe has accomplished at a basketball school, and even more amazing that Ole Miss got rid of him. Are they kicking themselves for making that decision? Before the start of the season, it seemed the best Duke could do was be hopeful to make a second consecutive bowl game to prove last season wasn’t simply a mirage. But Cutcliffe and Co. did more than just that this season. They openly talked about winning the Coastal. Along the way, they accomplished feats unimaginable at a place like Duke:

x94 Beating a ranked team for the first time since 1994
x94 Beating a ranked team on the road for the first time since 1971
x94 Beating two ranked teams in a season for the first time since 1971
x94 Winning 10 games in a season for the first time in program history

It’s quite the Cinderella tale in Durham. But one thing’s for sure, the Blue Devils earned their title this season, defying plenty of odds along the way.

Post-Game Thoughts

x94 For a second it seemed like Florida was the perfect kryptonite for Florida State. Thoughts of this week last season sprung to mind, questioning whether FSU’s “weak” schedule could be the culprit for not playing for a national championship. Then I remembered the Gators had no offense and the Seminoles turned a 3-0 lead into 17-0 and it was over. For 1.5 quarters, the Noles didn’t look so mighty, and quarterback Jameis Winston looked average. But it was his completion on 3rd and really long that changed the complexion of this game late in the second quarter.

x94 If this is the best Florida State team ever, then it’s fitting that the Seminoles woke as the nation’s No. 1 team, thanks in part to Alabama’s loss Saturday night. FSU is ranked first in the AP poll for the first time since Oct. 1, 2000. The Noles would go on to lose to Oklahoma in the championship game at the Orange Bowl.

x94 Turnovers kill. It goes without saying. That came back to haunt the Clemson Tigers Saturday night. The Tigers once again fell to South Carolina 31-17, while committing six turnovers. Clemson lost five in a row to its rival from Columbia for the first time in the history of the series. The loss certainly doesn’t help the stigma surrounding Clemson about winning big games. While it beat Georgia to start the season, that win seems long ago and forgotten.

x94 Clemson’s loss to South Carolina would certainly knock it out from playing in the Orange Bowl, but it seems pressure from the conference could likely come into play when it’s time for the Orange to make its pick.

x94 Another ACC school that can’t seem to get out from under the shadow of its rival is Georgia Tech. The Yellow Jackets were poised to break a five-game losing streak to Georgia and even jumped out to a 20-0 lead in the first half, but it wasn’t meant to be. The Bulldogs rallied and won 41-34 in double overtime. Georgia Tech has now lost 12 of the last 13 games in the series. The Yellow Jackets have not finished with less than five losses in a season since 2009, Paul Johnson’s second season in The Flats.

x94 11 teams in the ACC are bowl eligible after Syracuse picked up a 34-31 win over Boston College on Saturday. Last year, the league had eight teams eligible in the 12-team format.

Bowl Projections

BCS National Championship x94 Florida State vs. Ohio State

Orange Bowl x94 Clemson vs. Alabama

Heart of Dallas Bowl x94 Pittsburgh vs. Rice

Chick-fil-A Bowl x94 Duke vs. Texas A&M

Sun Bowl x94 Virginia Tech vs. UCLA

Independence Bowl x94 Georgia Tech vs. Oregon State

Music City Bowl x94 Boston College vs. Ole Miss

Russell Athletic Bowl x94 Miami vs. Louisville

Belk Bowl x94 North Carolina vs. Cincinnati

Military Bowl x94 Syracuse vs. North Texas