#acc

#acc

THERE ARE TWO ways of looking at the situation the ACC faces entering Saturday's championship game in which Duke, a 7-5 team with multiple losses outside the Power 4, could win the conference and, in doing so, keep the league out of the College Football Playoff altogether. The first is that it's simply a quirk of modern college football -- sprawling conferences with limited crossover between teams inevitably leading to a scenario where esoteric tiebreakers come into play.

Stanford is in the bottom 10 in the country in scoring offense, though it does much better at home (80 points in three wins) than on the road (60 points in five losses). Some of that has to do with the strength of its opponents - the Cardinal has faced three losing teams at home and three AP Top 15 teams on the road.

BERKELEY - The Cal football team, which doesn't seem to know what kind of season it's going to have, gets its highest-profile chance yet to make an impression when No. 15 Virginia visits Memorial Stadium for the first time on Saturday afternoon. If the inclination is to wonder if this is when the Bears (5-3, 2-2 ACC) head south for good with a third loss in four games, there is another side to the story.

When Stanford lost its first two games, interim coach Frank Reich told the players to wash away the stench of the loss in the post-game shower and come into the next week with the mentality of starting 1-0. After the Cardinal won its home and ACC opener last Saturday against Boston College, Reich had the same message don't let the result impact the way you prepare for the next game.

The Atlantic Coast Conference is reducing its 20-game men's basketball schedule to 18, giving teams two more spots for marquee nonconference games in a bid to boost a league getting a dwindling haul of NCAA Tournament bids.

The Tigers lost two key contributors from a team that made a run to the Elite Eight in 2023-24: PJ Hall and Joe Girard III. Yet, coach Brad Brownell effectively regrouped, leading Chase Hunter and Ian Schieffelin to stardom in the ACC, securing 27 wins, and a NCAA 5-seed, demonstrating resilience and skill in the roster adjustments.

Jonas Sanker is a versatile, high motor safety with high instinct and intelligence, having led the ACC in solo tackles over the last two seasons.