The ACC championship race became even more chaotic on Saturday when a pair of nationally ranked contenders lost at home to unranked opponents.
No. 14 Virginia suffered its first conference defeat, losing its first three fumbles of the season and starting quarterback Chandler Morris to injury in a 16-9 loss to Wake Forest. Soon after, No. 15 Louisville lost to Cal 29-26 when the Golden Bears scored on fourth-and-goal from the 3-yard line in overtime.
Saturday’s results create a logjam of five teams with one conference loss: Virginia, No. 17 Georgia Tech, No. 24 Pitt, SMU and Duke. The Yellow Jackets and Panthers were off Saturday, while SMU crushed Boston College 45-13. The Blue Devils’ 37-34 nonconference loss at UConn on Saturday doesn’t affect the ACC standings, even though it weakens the league’s image.
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Louisville’s second ACC defeat likely ends its hopes of a conference championship or College Football Playoff appearance. The Cardinals’ CFP odds fell from 40 percent entering the weekend to 9 percent, according to projections from The Athletic’s Austin Mock.
The Cavaliers entered Saturday in a strong position for a CFP bid, sitting at 8-1 with their lone loss coming to NC State in a nonconference matchup. Things got a little muddier Saturday night for Tony Elliott’s crew, though Virginia isn’t out of the conversation. Now, the Cavs likely need to win the ACC Championship Game to lock down a spot. Per Mock’s model, the Cavs entered Saturday with a 20 percent chance to make the CFP. Those odds have now dropped to 12 percent.
Part of the logjam at the top of the ACC’s standings will work itself out with a pair of de facto elimination games: Virginia at Duke next week and Pitt at Georgia Tech on Nov. 22.
No. 18 Miami is 7-2 overall, but both losses are in conference play. That makes the Hurricanes’ path to an ACC title very difficult but not impossible; Miami’s best shot at making the College Football Playoff remains an at-large bid. The Hurricanes blew out Syracuse 38-10 on Saturday.
Morris goes down
Morris was injured midway through the second quarter when Virginia’s fifth-year transfer took off running and slid, and was hit hard in the head/neck area by two Wake Forest defenders. Morris stayed down for several moments and received medical attention on the field before he was able to walk off, flanked by trainers, and head toward the locker room. He missed the entire second half, which put the game in the hands of backup quarterback Daniel Kaelin, a transfer from Nebraska.
Morris attempted just six passes before he went down, completing three for 19 yards. He rushed just that one time for 6 yards. Should Virginia be without Morris at any point heading down the stretch, it’d only further complicate things for the Cavs. Morris entered Saturday averaging 229.9 yards per game through the air and has been the unquestioned leader of this Virginia team.
Kaelin, meanwhile, finished the night 18-of-28 passing for 145 yards and no touchdowns and fumbled twice, with Wake Forest recovering both times. The Cavs had a shot at the end, starting their final drive at their own 42-yard line with 2:28 to play. But Daniel’s fourth-and-3 pass with 17 seconds remaining was incomplete and sealed Virginia’s fate. — Raynor
Louisville’s defense struggles
The Cardinals entered with the ACC’s top defense, allowing only 280.5 yards per game and 4.5 yards per play. Cal, however, rolled up 427 total yards, including 350 in the air.
The Golden Bears scored on five consecutive possessions in the middle of the game before Louisville’s defense tightened up in the fourth quarter.
Freshman QB Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele delivered arguably the best game of his promising freshman season for the Golden Bears. He completed 30 of 47 attempts for a career-high 323 yards.
The Golden Bears had lost 14 consecutive games against teams ranked in the Associated Press top 25. — Baker
Another Brown steps up
Louisville’s Isaac Brown had established himself as one of the nation’s most explosive running backs, ranking fourth in the country in yards per carry (8.6), but he missed the game with a leg injury that’s expected to sideline him for several weeks.
The Cardinals’ run game was fine without him thanks to another Brown. Keyjuan Brown recorded the first 100-yard game of his career, finishing with 136 yards on 14 carries. Louisville’s offense didn’t look quite the same without the other Brown, but his absence doesn’t loom as an excuse for a tight contest against a middling Cal team. — Baker
Wake Forest is bowl eligible
Give credit where it’s due to Wake Forest and coach Jake Dickert. When Dickert took over for Dave Clawson, who resigned in December, it felt as though the 2025 season would be a rebuilding year for the Demon Deacons. But after dropping consecutive games to NC State and Georgia Tech (in heartbreaking fashion) in September, Wake Forest found a way to regroup and has now won five of its last six games, including against an SMU team that just beat Miami.
Dickert, who came to Wake from Washington State, has now recorded two top-15 wins in the past three seasons, and he has the Demon Deacons ahead of schedule. After finishing with the nation’s No. 118 defense a season ago, Wake’s overhaul on that side of the ball has been particularly impressive.
Wake Forest currently has a top-35 defense. That group was much-needed on a night when Wake Forest put up just 203 yards of offense and quarterback Robby Ashford threw for only 46 yards and no touchdowns. But the Demon Deacons held the Cavaliers’ offense to 112 yards fewer than their average and were able to take advantage of UVA’s three turnovers. — Raynor
