The Twelve Days Before The College Football Playoff. Day 7: ACC vs. SEC
If #1 Alabama and #2 Clemson both win their College Football Playoff semifinal games on Saturday, they will meet up in the National Championship Game for the second year in a row.
These were the results of the head-to-head matchups between the ACC and the SEC during the regular season:
Saturday, September 3rd: Clemson 19, Auburn 13
Saturday, September 3rd: Georgia 33, North Carolina 24 (Neutral)
Monday, September 5th: Florida State 45, Ole Miss 34 (Neutral)
Saturday, September 10th: Tennessee 45, Virginia Tech 24 (Neutral)
Saturday, September 17th: Vanderbilt 7, Georgia Tech 38
Saturday, November 26th: Kentucky 41, Louisville 38
Saturday, November 26th: Georgia Tech 28, Georgia 27
Saturday, November 26th: Florida 13, Florida State 31
Saturday, November 26th: South Carolina 7, Clemson 56
The ACC won six games while the SEC only won three games. In these nine games, the ACC scored an average of 33.67 points per game while the SEC scored an average of 24.44 points per game.
Let’s now look at how the ACC and SEC fared against the same opponents. Those common opponents were: Appalachian State, East Carolina, Georgia Southern and UMass.
The ACC went 4-1 in those games while the SEC went 6-0.
In five games, the ACC scored an average of 38 points and gave up 18.2 for a point differential of +19.8.
The SEC, (in six games) on the other hand scored an average of 30.33 points and gave up 20.83 for a point differential of +9.5.
Now if we combine the results of the head-to-head games and the common opponent games we get the following information:
The ACC scored an average of 35.21 points per game and gave up an average of 22.21 points per contest for a point differential of +13.
The SEC scored an average 26.8 points per game and gave up an average of 28.53 points per contest for a point differential of -1.73.
So this information clearly validates the fact that the ACC is a better conference this season than the SEC because they scored more points and gave up fewer points than the SEC did.
Here are the bowl games that have already been played between the ACC and the SEC this season:
December 26th: Camping World Independence Bowl (Independence Stadium; Shreveport, Louisiana): North Carolina State Wolfpack (6-6), Vanderbilt Commodores (6-6).
North Carolina State 41, Vanderbilt 17
December 29th: Belk Bowl (Bank of America Stadium; Charlotte, North Carolina): Arkansas Razorbacks (7-5), #22 Virginia Tech Hokies (9-4).
Virginia Tech 35, Arkansas 24
These are the upcoming bowl games between the ACC and the SEC:
December 31st: Buffalo Wild Wings Citrus Bowl (Camping World Stadium; Orlando, Florida): #13 Louisville Cardinals (9-3) vs. #20 LSU Tigers (7-4), 11 a.m. ET, ABC
December 31st: TaxSlayer Bowl (EverBank Field; Jacksonville, Florida): Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (8-4) vs. Kentucky Wildcats (7-5), 11 a.m. ET, ESPN
