We won’t officially find out until Sunday, but Florida State has clinched a spot in the inaugural College Football Playoff with its win over Georgia Tech in the ACC championship game. The No. 4 Seminoles are 13-0 and ACC champions, beating the No. 11 Yellow Jackets 37-35 in Charlotte Saturday night.
ACC Championship final score: Florida State clinches Playoff spot with 37-35 win over Georgia Tech
The Seminoles win their third straight ACC crown. Is another national title next?
Like nearly every Florida State win this season, this one stayed close for a while. Georgia Tech took an early lead on its first possession and the two teams alternated touchdowns throughout the first half; the Seminoles did not hold the advantage until a touchdown pass made it 28-21 just 30 seconds before halftime. A trio of late field goals gave Florida State a 37-28 advantage, and a late interception thrown by Justin Thomas sealed the win. Georgia Tech scored a late touchdown to bring it within two points, but the Seminoles recovered the onside kick to win it.
Now the Seminoles turn their attention to their semifinal matchup. We know Alabama and Oregon are both in, almost certainly as the top two seeds in the bracket. If the Seminoles play the Tide, they’ll travel to the Sugar Bowl in Louisiana. If they play the Ducks, they’ll travel to the Rose Bowl in Pasadena.
What we don’t know is who the fourth team will be. TCU took care of business against Iowa State earlier Saturday, while Baylor beat a tough Kansas State team and Ohio State obliterated Wisconsin. The Seminoles wouldn’t likely see any of those teams unless a pair of first-round upsets happened, though. If the Playoff started before this weekend, Florida State would have played No. 1 Alabama in the Sugar Bowl. But the Seminoles could move up with this marquee victory -- or Oregon could move up with its blowout win against Arizona.
No matter what else happens, Florida State is in. The Seminoles have now won 29 straight games, and are two away from a second straight national title.
Looking for the bigger picture on the Playoff ramifications of this weekend? We’ve got you covered.
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