ACC standings, explained: Updated 2024 tiebreakers for SMU, Miami, Clemson and more

Who will make the ACC championship game on Dec. 7? 

The path to the conference championship game at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte features five teams in serious contention with three weeks left in the regular season. 

SMU, which joined the conference this year, controls its own destiny in the race. Clemson and Miami each have one loss in conference play, and Louisville and Pitt are hanging on with two conference losses each. 

Here is a look at where those contenders are in the standings, their respective paths to the ACC championship and the tie-breaker rules should two teams – or three or more teams - tie in the conference standings at the end of the regular season: 

ACC football standings 2024

The ACC has five teams with two losses or less in conference play with three weeks left in the regular season. Here is a look at those teams: 

ACC tiebreaker rules 

Here are the ACC tiebreaker procedures to follow in order to determine who makes the conference championship game, according to the conference’s official website 

Two-team tie 

1. Head-to-head competition between teams

2. Winning percentage vs. common opponents. 

3. Win-percentage vs. common opponents based upon of finish (overall conference winning percentage, with ties broken) 

4. Combined winning percentage of conference opponents

5. The tied team with the higher ranking by the Team Rating Score metric provided by SportSource Analytics following the conclusion of regular season games. 

6. The representative shall be chosen by a draw as administered by the Commissioner or Commissioner’s designee. 

Three teams or more

The three-team tiebreaker procedure will first be used to determine one championship game participant. Then, the tiebreaker restarts for the remaining tied teams

1. Combined head-to-head win-percentage among the tied teams if all tied teams are common opponents. 

2. If all the tied teams are not common opponents, the tied team that defeated each of the other tied teams. If all the tied teams are not common opponents, no tied team defeated each of the other tied teams, but a tied team lost to each of the other tied teams, such team shall be eliminated and removed from the tie.

3. Win-percentage versus all common opponents. 

4. Win-percentage versus common opponents based upon their order of finish (overall conference win-percentage, with ties broken) and proceeding through other common opponents based upon their order of finish. 

5. Combined win-percentage of conference opponents. 

6. The tied team with the highest ranking by the Team Rating Score metric provided by SportSource Analytics following the conclusion of regular season games. 

7. The representative shall be chosen by a draw as administered by the Commissioner or Commissioner’s designee.

ACC contenders path to the championship game 

SMU (9-1, 6-0 ACC) 

Remaining schedule: at Virginia, vs. Cal 

The Mustangs 38-28 win over Boston College on Saturday eliminated the eight ACC teams with three losses in conference play. SMU has head-to-head victories against Pitt and Louisville, too. The Mustangs have the cleanest look at the ACC championship game and control their own destiny with two more wins.  

Clemson (8-2, 7-1 ACC) 

Remaining schedule: vs. The Citadel, vs. South Carolina

The Tigers need a late touchdown run from Cade Klubnik to survive an upset bid from Pitt on the road Saturday and won 24-20. That wrapped up a 7-1 ACC season for Clemson. The Tigers did not play SMU or Miami, and they have a head-to-head loss against Louisville. Clemson cannot afford a three-way tie for first at 7-1 or a two-way tie for second if SMU goes unbeaten. 

Miami (9-1, 5-1 ACC) 

Remaining schedule: vs. Wake Forest, at Syracuse

Miami has a head-to-head victory against Louisville, and it does not play Clemson or SMU. If the Hurricanes and Tigers both finish 7-1 in ACC play, the tie-breaker would come down to winning percentage against common opponents. In this case, those common opponents are Virginia Tech, Louisville, Florida State and Wake Forest. Clemson is 3-1 against those teams. Miami is 3-0 and still has to play Wake Forest. 

Most likely ACC championship game scenario 

SMU should be able to get to at least 7-1 in conference play knowing one of those games are at home. Let’s say the Mustangs lose a conference game, and SMU, Clemson and Miami all finish 7-1 in conference play. 

Then those three teams’ common opponents are Florida State and Louisville. SMU and Miami went 2-0 against those teams. Clemson finished 1-1. SMU and Miami also would have better records against common opponents then the Tigers. 

Basically, Clemson either needs the Mustangs to lose two conference games or Miami to lose another conference game to have a chance. 

Our guess, however, is that SMU wins out in ACC play and faces Miami, which wins its last two conference games. That is our best bet for the ACC championship game on Dec. 7. 

Here is a look at the ACC opponents among SMU, Miami and Clemson to track common opponents for the next three weeks