Clemson beats Virginia Tech to win the ACC and punch its ticket to the Playoff

The Clemson Tigers have officially punched their ticket to the 2016 College Football Playoff. The No. 3 team in the country beat No. 23 Virginia Tech 42-35 to win its second straight ACC title, and continue to stay in the national championship conversation.

Virginia Tech kept things interesting for the whole the game, staying within one score throughout the majority of the night. The Hokies went to the locker room trailing just 21-14 at the half. Clemson went up 35-14 in the third, but the Hokies scored two touchdowns, one in the third and another to open the fourth quarter to make it a 35-28 game. Both teams scored back-to-back touchdowns on the next two drives to keep it a seven-point game

Trailing 42-35 with just over four minutes left, Virginia Tech took over on its own 42 with the upset chances on the line. Virginia Tech was able to get down to the Clemson 23 yard line, but quarterback Jerod Evans, who had three scores on the night, threw an interception to give Clemson the win.

Clemson’s offense, which put up 42 points, was led by quarterback Deshaun Watson. He finished with over 200 yards and three touchdowns, and rushed for another two scores. Running back Wayne Gallman added another touchdown of his own.

Clemson’s win eliminates any drama about its Playoff positioning. Dabo Swinney’s team will join the field of four for the second year in a row. Clemson looks in good shape to be the No. 2 or No. 3 seed, which would put off a meeting with No. 1 Alabama until at least the National Championship.

Bama edged Clemson in that game last year, and now Clemson’s a win away from getting back -- probably against the same opponent, though life’s full of surprises sometimes. If Clemson stays somewhere above No. 4, it’ll play in the Fiesta Bowl semifinal on New Year’s Eve, with Alabama in the Peach.

For Virginia Tech, this one is a tough result. The Hokies were playing a better team and lost to it, which is how these things generally go. They still had a fine first season under ACC Coach of the Year Justin Fuente, with nine wins and a likely solid bowl bid forthcoming. Their ACC schedule was pretty favorable, and it allowed them to put off meeting any one of Clemson, Louisville, and Florida State until just now. But they did well with what they had, and Fuente looks to have a good foundation in place.

The next question for the Tigers isn’t if they make the Playoff, but where will they be ranked. No. 4 seems like a likely spot, but given that Ohio State didn’t play on Championship Saturday, we’ll see where the Buckeyes end up, depending on how much the committee will value conference championship appearances. The way that the Tigers had to show some fight to defeat the 9-3 Hokies probably drops them down a bit in the committee’s eyes.

Even though Virginia Tech hung tough, Clemson took care of business in Orlando to move one step closer to getting a rematch with Alabama.