The loss against Notre Dame truly didn’t matter for the Pittsburgh HC Pat Narduzzi. Their 42-48 win against Georgia Tech has thrown the entire conference into chaos. The Panthers strengthened their bid for the conference title push and ended all the hopes for the Yellow Jackets. Next, they face Miami, another contender and the highest-rated ACC team. But there is a scenario where the ACC might not be part of the playoffs after all.

“Here’s the one thing that comes with this, though. I have no freaking idea who’s going to play in the ACC championship,” analyst Joe DeLeone said on The Ruffino & Joe Show. “Miami, I don’t think can get into the ACC championship game based on the fact that SMU won. I’m sure that there’s some sort of qualifier that somebody could bring up and point out, but at the current moment, I don’t think Pit is going to beat Miami. It looks like it’s SMU Virginia.”

 Pitt’s win or loss controls the ACC’s standing in the playoffs. With four teams- Virginia, Miami, SMU, and Pitt fighting for two championship spots, things are turning messier than ever. If Pitt comes strong against Miami, this will lead to no ACC team in the top 12. The ACC is in big trouble after Pittsburgh’s shocking win against Georgia Tech, hanging as the conference’s playoff hopes on a thin thread.

“They did really look like they were prepared and they were prepared for the moment. I really wonder how they’re going to play against Miami this upcoming weekend. That is going to be a far bigger challenge for them with the way that Miami has responded in recent weeks,” DeLeone previously said.

Now, the real concern is how the playoff committee will view the eventual ACC champion. As only Miami and Virginia are currently ranked in the playoff rankings, they hold the 13th and 19th spots, respectively. This leaves them with a risk of falling behind the red-hot Group of Five teams, Tulane (9-2) and James Madison (10-1). Even with the wins, the conference faces uncertainty in how the committee will actually evaluate top teams.

Virginia football has a clear path to Charlotte. The Cavaliers control their own destiny since they just need to beat Virginia Tech. Next, SMU can qualify with a win over Cal. Even though Pittsburgh has boosted its resume with a win over Georgia Tech, it should win against Miami, too. Plus, they are hoping either SMU or Virginia will falter next week. But for the highest-ranked ACC team, the path is not simple.

First, they need to beat Pitt, whose defense has been one of the ACC’s best units, which might give Carson Beck some trouble. Then they even hope for Virginia to lose against Virginia Tech and Cal to upset SMU. That looks highly impossible. Now, being the highest-ranked ACC team in the playoffs, they might get a spot, but only if all these outcomes pan out their way.

So, there’s a high risk that no ACC team actually makes it to the playoffs after Pitt’s strong showing against Georgia Tech. Now, all of them are fighting to secure a high-tier bowl berth. With four teams in contention for two spots, the tiebreakers and results of other teams affect the scenario even more. On top of it, even if Pitt or SMU wins, they could still fall behind G5 teams in how the committee evaluates their schedule.

But for now, let’s talk about the main highlight of the game.

Pat Narduzzi gets real about his questionable call against the Yellow Jackets

The HC dismissed the notion that facing Notre Dame was a ‘must-win.’ Even though they lost, the Pitt looked like a different outfit as they ran 28-0 early in the second quarter against Georgia Tech. But the Panthers still gave away a 28-7 run over a stretch of 30 game minutes. Pat Narduzzi’s questionable coaching decision came late in the fourth quarter. Instead of punting with 7:05 left on the clock, Narduzzi sent his WR Cataurus “Blue” Hicks to take the snap, attempting a fake punt.

Georgia Tech quickly recognized the play, tackled Hicks for a loss, and quickly scored, which ended up cutting Pitt’s lead to 35-28. After the game, when the media asked him about this move, Pat Narduzzi didn’t hesitate to accept his mistake.

“I’m a dumb-ss,” Narduzi said. “Just a coach trying to make a play. We hadn’t run a fake punt all year. We hadn’t run a fake punt all year. They were bringing pressure and thought it was a good time just to sequence and try to make a play. I’ll take that one on me. I’ll take those seven points. Chalk that up to the coach trying to make a play. I always say coaches don’t make plays. Calls don’t make plays; players do. We could’ve had the edge, and he stumbled and went down. But hey, we got the W.”

Now, despite the risk, Pitt somehow held up the game with running back Ja’Kyrian Turner sealing the game with a 56-yard touchdown run and the Panthers’ defense forcing a third turnover on downs to end Georgia Tech’s comeback hopes. Next week, going up against Miami, Narduzzi must avoid his risky play calls; otherwise, they might lose the momentum they have gained so far.