The ACC was hoping it could sell this game as a marquee matchup prior to last Saturday. The game was even being watched as a possible visit from ESPN’s College GameDay. At the time, Wake Forest had just one loss in conference play and was ranked No. 19 in the College Football Playoff Rankings.
It could have been dubbed as the de facto ACC Atlantic Division Championship Game.
However, the Demon Deacons did not hold up their end of the bargain and were humbled at Virginia Tech. Clemson, No. 3 in this week’s CFP Rankings, then thrashed NC State to clinch its fifth straight division title and punched its ticket to the ACC Championship Game next month.