For the first time in the 13-year history of the ACC Championship Game, the league's meeting of the Atlantic and Coastal Division champs has national title implications for both teams. While other conferences have potential spoiler scenarios at play on Saturday, the college football spotlight will descend on Charlotte, North Carolina, on Saturday with a true "win-and-you're-in" College Football Playoff scenario for both Clemson and Miami.
Viewing information
Date: Saturday, Dec. 2 | Time: 8 p.m. ET
Location: Bank of America Stadium -- Charlotte, North Carolina
TV: ABC | Live stream: WatchESPN
Storylines
Clemson: Other than Alabama, no coaching staff in the country has more experience managing the 15-game grind that is required to win a national championship in the College Football Playoff era. It feels like we've run the full cycle of analysis with Clemson, from crowning them in September and picking at their shortcomings through the season after the Syracuse loss, only to arrive back where we finished last year with the Tigers as the No. 1 team in the land. Last Saturday's business trip to Columbia to handle a good South Carolina team was a championship-caliber win, and as Dabo Swinney told reporters this week that his team was "four quarters from the College Football Playoff," it's tough not to think that he and his staff know exactly how to get this team in the right spot to win a third-straight ACC title.
Miami: One glance at the injury report will begin to explain why the Hurricanes, one of the best stories in college football this year, are underdogs of more than a touchdown in the program's first ACC Championship Game appearance. The losses of Chris Herndon IV and Ahmmon Richards in the last week have taken away two of the top three receiving options for Malik Rosier, making it even more difficult for an offense that struggled in the loss to Pittsburgh to find explosive plays against an elite Clemson defense. Rosier will need to be efficient with the ball, make some plays on the ground and the offensive line needs to play its best game of the season to open up running lanes for Travis Homer if Miami is going to be competitive in this game.
Prediction
Even with the injuries, it's really tough to see Miami not showing up in a big way for this game. Clemson's offense is not built to run and gun its way to high-scoring blowouts, so if the Hurricanes can come up big on third down and win the turnover battle -- the turnover chain not only sends a jolt of energy up and down the Miami sideline, it usually coincides with a short field and scoring opportunities for the offense -- they can hang around in this game. So for picks, I actually love playing the under here because I would be shocked if either team tops 24 points as both rely on their stellar defensive play and try to limit the mistakes. I expect Clemson to win against the hobbling Hurricanes, but with a low-scoring game and Rosier's ability to make plays on the ground, I'll the underdog against the spread. Pick: Miami +9.5
