It took a global pandemic, a huge amount of uncertainty in college Ffotball, the elevation of Notre Dame to play as a member of the ACC for one year, and, ironically, a victory by those same Irish over UNC. That magic formula all came together on Sunday to elevate both the Clemson Tigers and Notre Dame Fighting Irish to the College Football Playoffs, which left the Tar Heels standing as the highest ranked ACC team left in the CFP rankings to go to the Orange Bowl.
Despite its conference’s nearly two-decade link to the game in Miami, the Tar Heels have never played in this game.