The divisional races have been decided and the matchup for the this year’s ACC Championship Game has been set.

With 2 weeks remaining in the regular season, there’s still work to do before 9th-ranked Clemson and No. 13 North Carolina meet for the title in Charlotte. And everyone, including those below the Tigers and Tar Heels in the standings will be looking to finish the season strong.

Here’s a look ahead at the penultimate matchups:

Duke at Pittsburgh

When – Saturday, noon ET

TV – ACC Network

Duke coach Mike Elko challenged his team to “get greedy” and not be satisfied with simply becoming bowl eligible for the 1st time since 2018 after earning its 6th victory 2 weeks ago at Boston College.

The Blue Devils (7-3, 4-2 ACC) answered that challenge Saturday with a dominant win against Virginia. Now they’ll try to add win No. 8 to their already-successful ledger while enhancing Elko’s coach of the year chances on the road at Pittsburgh.

It’s only fitting that this game will be played on the home field of the NFL’s Pittsburgh Steelers, because it is shaping up to be an old-school, smash-mouth defensive struggle.

The Panthers (6-4, 3-3) have allowed only 1 touchdown over the past 2 games while their defense has scored twice on interceptions by M.J. Devonshire and Marquis Williams. They’ve recorded 14 total sacks in back-to-back victories against Syracuse and Virginia, holding both opponents to fewer than 150 yards of total offense.

Duke is coming off a defensive effort Elko called its best of the season. After giving up a 53-yard touchdown on the 2nd play of the game, the Blue Devils shut out Virginia Tech the rest of the way. The Blue Devils had an interception in the victory for their 21st takeaway of the season, a total that ranks among the top 10 nationally.

Pitt has won 10 of the past 11 meetings with Duke’s only win coming in overtime in 2014.

Louisiana at Florida State

When – Saturday, noon ET

TV – Regional sports network

The 23rd-ranked Seminoles (7-3) jump-started their season with a win against LSU on Labor Day weekend. Saturday, with their conference schedule completed, they’ll look to add an exclamation point by taking down another team from Louisiana.

Assuming Mike Norvell’s team doesn’t get caught looking ahead to its regular-season finale against rival Florida next week, this should be much less competitive than that dramatic last-second win against the Tigers at the SuperDome. The Ragin’ Cajuns of the Sun Belt Conference are 5-5 with losses to Rice, Louisiana-Monroe and South Alabama on their record.

FSU has hit its stride on both sides of the ball since breaking out of a 3-game mid-season losing streak. Its consecutive victories against Georgia Tech, Miami and Syracuse have come by an average of 34 points.

Quarterback Jordan Travis has thrown 3 touchdown passes in each of the past 3 games. Running back Trey Benson has rushed for 111 or more yards in each of those games. Defensively, the Seminoles have yielded only 2 field goals over the past 2 weeks. They held Syracuse to just 65 yards through the air and 160 total Saturday.

Virginia Tech at Liberty

When – Saturday, noon ET

TV – ESPN+

Who could have imagined, even as recently as the start of this season, that a Hokies team would be a 9.5-point underdog to Liberty?

But here we are.

The Flames are 8-2 with wins against Arkansas and BYU and will have a decided home-field advantage against a higher-profile in-state opponent. The 2-8 Hokies, meanwhile, have been an absolute train wreck in their 1st season under coach Brent Pry.

Saturday’s loss at Duke was their 7th straight, Tech’s longest skid since dropping 7 straight during 1951. The Hokies’ 8 losses are their most in a season since going 2-9 in 1987.

Not a lot has gone right for Virginia Tech this season. It ranks last in the ACC in total offense at 313 yards per game, turnover margin at minus-8 and both red-zone offense and defense. The Hokies are among the lowest-scoring teams in the league at just under 19 ppg and the most penalized with 77.

They’ll have their work cut out for them against a Liberty team that has been putting up big numbers on the ground (192.5 yards per game) and on the scoreboard (30.1 ppg). But the Flames might be vulnerable after a loss to UConn that dropped them out of the national rankings.

Boston College at Notre Dame

When – Saturday, 2:30 p.m. ET

TV – NBC/Peacock

The Eagles (3-7) are the ACC’s last hope of preventing yet another winless season against the Irish. No. 18 Notre Dame (7-3) already owns victories against North Carolina, Syracuse and Clemson and has won 27 straight against conference opponents dating to 2018.

BC comes into the game on a high after Saturday’s gritty come-from-behind win at NC State and has gotten an offensive spark since redshirt freshman Emmett Morehead took over at quarterback 2 games ago.

But with a patchwork offensive line that has been decimated by injuries, coach Jeff Hafley’s team is going to have a hard time containing an Irish defensive line that already has manhandled the best teams the ACC has to offer.

The outlook isn’t any rosier on the other side of the line. While the Irish are grinding out 182 yards per game on the ground behind the trio of Audric Estime, Logan Diggs and Chris Tyree, BC’s defense is among the worst in the ACC against the run. The Eagles have allowed 19 rushing touchdowns and are allowing their opponents an average of 4.1 yards per carry.

Miami at Clemson

When – Saturday, 3:30 p.m. ET

TV – ESPN

Once among the most anticipated games on the league schedule, the matchup between the 2 preseason divisional favorites has devolved into a potential mismatch.

The 9th-ranked Tigers (9-1, 7-0) have held up their end of the bargain by sweeping to the Atlantic Division title and remaining at least on the periphery of the College Football Playoff picture. The Hurricanes (5-5, 3-3) have gone in the opposite direction in a disappointing 1st season under coach Mario Cristobal.

Miami needs to win at least 1 of its final 2 games – either at Death Valley, where Clemson had won 39 straight or against Pittsburgh next week at home, where they’ve lost 4 straight – just to qualify for the postseason.

There is at least some reason to hope, slim as it might be.

After going 9 quarters without a touchdown, Miami finally awoke from its recent offensive slumber last week by scoring 35 points to beat Georgia Tech behind the passing and running of freshman quarterback Jacurri Brown. He’ll be facing a much greater challenge this week against a Tigers defense stacked with NFL prospects.

NC State at Louisville

When – Saturday, 3:30 p.m. ET

TV – ACC Network

Both teams are coming off losses and enter the game with major questions on offense. Of the 2, the Wolfpack (7-3, 3-3) figures to have the tougher time bouncing back.

Its 21-20 loss to Boston College didn’t just end a realistic chance of accomplishing its goal of a 10-win season, it also spoiled Senior Night and snapped a school record-tying 16-game home winning streak. If that wasn’t bad enough, the Eagles scored their winning touchdown with just 14 seconds remaining, a play after a marginal pass interference call that nullified a 4th-down stop.

It was the only time BC led in the game.

State left itself open to the comeback by squandering an early 14-0 lead and producing only 61 yards of offense after halftime. After throwing for 3 touchdowns during each of his 1st 2 starts, freshman quarterback MJ Morris finally showed his inexperience by going 12-of-24 for 135 yards with a touchdown and an interception.

The Cardinals (6-4, 3-4) saw their 4-game winning streak snapped at then-No. 12 Clemson. There’s no shame in that, since the Tigers haven’t lost at Death Valley since 2016. But of greater concern is the condition of quarterback Malik Cunningham.

The star senior injured his shoulder on the final play of the opening half and didn’t return. Even if he isn’t ready to go against the Wolfpack, backup Brock Domann has shown he can be a serviceable replacement – especially when supported by a defense that ranks among the nation’s best in sacks and takeaways.

Coastal Carolina at Virginia

When – Saturday, 3:30 p.m. ET

TV – ESPN3

Virginia Tech isn’t the only ACC underdog against a Sun Belt opponent this week. The Cavaliers are giving up 3.5 points at home to the 9-1 Chanticleers, who have secured a spot in their conference championship game.

Home field hasn’t been much of an advantage for the Cavaliers (3-7). After winning their 1st 2 games at Scott Stadium under rookie coach Tony Elliott, they’ve dropped 4 straight. And despite having a senior quarterback who led the ACC in passing a year ago, they rank dead last in the conference in scoring at 17 ppg this season.

Part of Brennan Armstrong’s problem is his team’s inability to run the ball. Virginia had minus-8 yards rushing during Saturday’s blowout loss to Pittsburgh. Another problem has been turnovers. He has been intercepted 12 times, including twice for touchdowns on his 1st 2 passes against the Panthers. That could be problematic against the Chanticleers, whose plus-10 turnover margin is among the top 10 nationally.

Chanticleers quarterback Grayson McCall is having the kind of season Armstrong did last year. He has thrown for 21 touchdowns and been picked off only once while averaging better than 230 yards per game.

Georgia Tech at North Carolina

When – Saturday, 5:30 p.m. ET

TV – ESPN2

Having already clinched the Coastal Division with Saturday’s win at Wake Forest, the task for the 13th-ranked Tar Heels is to maintain their focus and not get caught looking ahead to their ACC Championship Game date with Clemson on Dec. 3.

UNC (9-1, 6-0) is a 20-point favorite and should have little trouble disposing of a Yellow Jackets team playing out the string under interim coach Brent Key. But even with an explosive offense triggered by Heisman Trophy candidate Drake Maye and All-American receiver Josh Downs, a suspect defense has prevented Mack Brown’s team from putting even the most overmatched opponent away.

Six of the Tar Heels’ 9 wins have come by a touchdown or less. All of those close games, however, have come on the road.

Tech got bad news when it learned that freshman quarterback Zack Pyron will be lost for the remainder of the season with a fractured collarbone. The Yellow Jackets’ best hope is to catch UNC suffering from a post-clinching hangover and by forcing multiple turnovers. The latter part of the equation isn’t out of the realm of possibility. The Yellow Jackets (4-6, 3-4) are tied for 5th in the Football Bowl Subdivision with 22 takeaways (12 fumble recoveries, 10 interceptions).

Syracuse at Wake Forest

When – Saturday, 8 p.m. ET

TV – ACC Network

Something has to give when the Orange and Deacons meet at Truist Field.

Syracuse (6-4, 3-3) has lost 4 straight and dropped out of the national rankings since starting 6-0 and clinching bowl eligibility. Wake Forest (6-4, 2-4) has dropped its past 3 since topping at a No. 10 ranking and entertaining New Year’s 6 bowl possibilities.

Of the 2, Dave Clawson’s Deacons have to feel better about their situation than the Orange because of the arm of quarterback Sam Hartman and his stable of talented receivers. Hartman threw 4 touchdown passes during Saturday’s 36-34 loss to then-No. 15 UNC and is just 7 scoring tosses away from Tajh Boyd’s ACC career record of 107.

But Hartman has had a problem with interceptions lately. He has been picked off 7 times during his past 3 games, including a damaging 1 during the 4th quarter Saturday that led to the Tar Heels’ winning score.

Some of Syracuse’s problems have been the result of injuries. But even with quarterback Garrett Shrader returning to the lineup, it still managed only 160 yards and 9 1st downs while going 1-for-11 on 3rd-down conversions in Saturday’s 38-3 rout at the hands of then-No. 25 Florida State. It was the 2nd straight game the Orange has been held without a touchdown.