“Coastal Chaos” is a term that starts getting thrown around a lot this time of year. It refers to the volatile nature of the ACC’s Coastal Division and the uncertainty of a football championship race that often involves multiple teams and tiebreaking scenarios right down to the season’s final week. The term has begun to crop up again as a popular hashtag among fans on social media and a convenient buzzword for many writers and broadcasters that cover the league. But the fact is that as the season prepares to enter its final month, this year’s Coastal race is shaping up to be the least chaotic in recent memory. It could very easily be reduced to just two legitimate contenders as soon as Thursday, depending on the result of that night’s game between Virginia Tech and Pittsburgh at Heinz Field. There are currently three teams “tied” atop the division standings with one loss apiece, but the order in which they are listed is deceiving because of head-to-head tiebreakers. Although North Carolina is on top at 4-1, Virginia Tech (3-1) has the upper hand because of its 34-3 drubbing of the Tar Heels in Hurricane Matthew on Oct. 8. If the Hokies beat the 3-1 Panthers, they will have the inside track to Orlando as the division’s representative to the ACC Championship Game on Dec. 3. A loss would all but eliminate Pitt from title contention, since Tech and UNC would both then hold tiebreakers against it and the Hokies are unlikely to lose two more conference games against a remaining schedule that features sub-.500 opponents Duke, Georgia Tech and Virginia. The Tar Heels would need the Hokies to drop at least one of those games to have a chance at repeating as Coastal champs. Things would become a little more chaotic if the Panthers win Thursday. First and foremost, UNC would once again control its own divisional destiny. Pitt would also be right back into the mix, assuming that it’s able to win out against a challenging ACC lineup of Miami and Clemson on the road, and Duke and Syracuse at home. Even if the Panthers are able to run the table, they’d still need the Tar Heels to stumble at least once against Georgia Tech at home, Duke on the road or N.C. State at home to secure the title “I never thought we were out of it just because we lost one game,” said UNC quarterback Mitch Trubisky, whose team has a bye on Saturday. “It’s a long season, and pretty much anything can happen.” Anything, including three teams tied for first in the division with 6-2 conference records, a logjam that would force the ACC to go deeper into its tie-breaking procedure than simple head-to-head competition. Or as it’s come to be know, the usual “Coastal Chaos.”
