Just after North Carolina finished spitting the bit against Virginia and with Duke threatening to extend its lead on Florida State late in the third quarter, I tweeted the following:

It didn’t take long for the backlash to begin.

And I get it.

Duke fans were obviously pulling for their team, which is still in contention for a spot in the conference championship game. NC State fans were taking pleasure in the embarrassment their rival Tar Heels inflicted upon themselves while all those others were still fuming over the Seminoles’ self-important attitude toward the league.

But the fact is that after 7 strong weeks of work, the ACC’s effort to change its narrative and return to national relevance was nearly undone in 1 eventful night. Finebaum, Klatt, Herbstreit and the other haters were already teeing up their league-bashing takes just waiting for FSU to crash and burn.

They were put on hold by a dominant 4th-quarter effort from Jordan Travis and his mates.

That only emphasizes the point of my … whatever its you call a tweet these days. At a time in which the future of the ACC as we know it hangs precariously in the balance, the league is in desperate need of getting a team into this year’s College Football Playoff to prove its viability.

At this point, FSU is its best hope.

Is that an overreaction? Sure it is. But it’s only 1 of the 10 things I’m absolutely overreacting to after Week 8 in and around the ACC.

10. Say what, Dabo?

Dabo Swinney’s views on the transfer portal and name, image and likeness compensation for his players have been interpreted by many as antiquated. It’s clear from his comments after Saturday’’s double-overtime loss at Miami that his sense of humor is also stuck in the 1990s.

Frustrated by his team’s inability to hold onto a 10-point 2nd-half lead en route to its 3rd ACC loss of the season, the long-time Clemson tried to lighten up the mood with a joke in response to a reporter’s question about the use of sports psychologists.

“We’ve got ‘em,” Swinney replied. “He’s probably on suicide watch right now.”

That might have been funny at one time. Not anymore.

Considering that research by the American College Health Association shows that the suicide rate for people between the ages of 15-24 has tripled since the 1950s and that it is now the 2nd-most common death among college students, the comment was completely inappropriate under any circumstance – especially concerning a football game – and screams for a public apology.

To Swinney’s credit, he apologized Sunday.

9. An open date isn’t a magic cure to what ails a struggling team

Swinney was asked the question as a potential cure for his team’s penchant for turning the ball over. Especially in situations when it appears to be going in for a score. It happened twice in a season-opening loss at Duke and again Saturday night against Miami. The Tigers’ 10 lost fumbles are the most in the nation.

Swinney put a priority on solving the problem during last week’s open date. But while that extra practice time during the middle of the season can be an opportunity for teams to work on smoothing out their rough edges and improve – as it clearly did for Virginia against UNC – it’s not a magic fix.

Either the Tigers didn’t put enough time into working on ball security or it’s an epidemic to which there is no cure – one that is almost certain to raise its ugly head again and cost Clemson at least 1 more game before the season is done.

8. Santino’s time

With his top 2 quarterbacks sidelined with injuries, Wake Forest coach Dave Clawson might not have any other choice than to start newly-minted Deacon legend Santino Marucci again next Saturday when Wake Forest takes on Florida State.

But even if Mitch Griffis and/or Michael Kern are healthy enough to play, he should stick with the redshirt sophomore who engineered the Deacons’ dramatic come-from-behind win against Pittsburgh.

Griffis had 5 games to show what he could do. Kern’s body of work before he was injured was too small to judge. Marucci, however, has at least displayed an ability to rise to the occasion, incredible poise for someone with such little experience and a strong, accurate arm once Clawson and offensive coordinator Warren Ruggiero were forced to stop babying him and allowed him to throw.

Maybe Marucci isn’t the answer. Perhaps Saturday’s 4th quarter was his entire 15 minutes of fame. But with an offense that ranks dead last in the ACC after leading the league last season and averaging better than 30 points per game every year since 2017, sticking with him and seeing what he can do is worth a try.

7. Another Mario mess

Remember that line from Forrest Gump when his mother told him that “life is like a box of chocolates because you never know what you’ll get?”

Welp, it’s applicable to any game the Miami Hurricanes play these days thanks to coach Mario Cristobal’s head-scratching late clock management.

Cristobal put on another master class of how not to coach the final 2 minutes Saturday against Clemson. Despite being in a tie game with a timeout in hand, 1:34 remaining and a reliable veteran kicker who had already made a clutch 4th-quarter field goal, he chose to have his offense run out the clock and play for overtime.

Unlike that infamous loss to Georgia Tech 2 weeks earlier, when he decided not to have quarterback Tyler Van Dyke take a knee to put the game on ice, his players bailed him out this time by winning in double overtime.

6. Bowl or no bowl

No one in the ACC has been mathematically eliminated from bowl eligibility yet. But with 5 weeks remaining in the regular season, the postseason picture is coming into focus.

Three teams – Florida State, UNC and Louisville – already are bowl eligible. Duke and Miami are just 1 win away. Everyone else still is still on the bubble.

So let’s handicap their chances.

Who’s in: Clemson, Syracuse, Boston College, NC State and Virginia Tech.

The Tigers are a given, even though they’re only 4-3. The Orange, also 4-3, aren’t as bad as they’ve looked over the past 3 games against the hardest part of their schedule while the Eagles (4-3) and Hokies (3-4) are both trending in the right direction thanks to the play of their dual-threat transfer quarterbacks. The Wolfpack, meanwhile, have a much smaller margin for error. But even with a balky offense and a challenging schedule, they should be able to find the 2 wins they need for bowl eligibility.

Who’s out: Virginia, Pittsburgh, Georgia Tech and Wake Forest.

The Cavaliers have won 2 straight and are looking much better, but at 2-5, they waited too long to get their act together. The Panthers, who are also 2-5, saw their realistic hopes end Saturday at Wake Forest. The remaining schedules for the 3-4 Yellow Jackets and 4-3 Deacons are just too brutal, especially given their inconsistency.

5. Cavaliers’ turning point

After Saturday night’s upset of UNC, Virginia coach Tony Elliott told his players that the program’s 1st road win against a top-10 opponent was “a catalyst to where we’re going.”

In reality, it was much more than that. It was a physical and emotional turning point for a program that has experienced nothing but hardship, adversity and loss for the past year. It’s a line of demarcation that puts the tragedy of last November in the past and gives Elliott and his players something positive to build on moving into the future.

The Cavaliers have been close to making a breakthrough this season, suffering close losses to James Madison, NC State and Boston College before breaking through against William & Mary. The win in Chapel Hill was their 1st against a FBS opponent in more than a calendar year.

Although the full effect of the confidence gained from the victory might not be seen before the end of this season, it finally has UVa heading in the right direction.

4. Missing in action

Omarion Hampton leads the ACC in rushing and he had another big game against UVa on Saturday, piling up 112 yards on 19 carries for an average of 5.9 yards per attempt. But with the Tar Heels’ unbeaten record, top-10 ranking and Playoff chances all on the line, the sophomore running back was missing in action from UNC’s offense.

Maybe Mack Brown and offensive coordinator Chip Lindsey got carried away trying to go for style points to impress the poll voters after taking a 24-14 lead early in the 3rd quarter. Maybe they abandoned the ground game to try and enhance Drake Maye’s Heisman Trophy chances by padding his passing stats.

Whatever the reason, Hampton touched the ball only 5 times in the 2nd half – 4 on rushes and another on a dump-off pass that got Maye out of trouble. It was reminiscent of Clemson’s misuse of Will Shipley during the final 2 periods of last year’s loss to South Carolina.

With the same result. Virtual elimination from Playoff contention.

3. Heisman worthy

Other quarterbacks have put up better individual numbers and have gotten much more love from the national media.

Washington’s Michael Penix is Exhibit A.

But statistics tell only part of the story why FSU’s Jordan Travis shouldn’t just be invited to New York as a Heisman Trophy finalist. He should be the favorite to join Jameis Winston, Chris Weinke and Charlie Ward as winners of the most prestigious award in college football.

Not that his stats aren’t outstanding.

They are.

The 6th-year senior has thrown for 1,750 yards, 15 touchdowns and only 2 interceptions while rushing for 5 more scores. He added to his long list of school records on Saturday by becoming the Seminoles’ all-time leader in total offense.

But it’s the intangibles that make Travis the best player in the country this season. They showed again against Duke on Saturday when despite having struggled for 3 quarters against the ACC’s best defense, he calmly led his team on a methodical 14-play, 96-yard scoring drive that gave FSU its first lead and opened the floodgates to a game-breaking run of 21 unanswered points.

2. If Riley Leonard is healthy enough to be effective, Duke is playing for the ACC title

Up until Saturday night, it was starting to look as if an ACC Championship showdown between Florida State and UNC was inevitable.

That’s no longer the case. And not just because of the Tar Heels’ loss to UVa.

As if any more proof was necessary after its previous performances against Clemson and Notre Dame, Duke’s performance over the 1st 3 quarters against Florida State provided further confirmation that Mike Elko’s team is championship worthy.

The most impressive thing about the Blue Devils’ effort is that it came with star quarterback Riley Leonard clearly limited in his mobility because of an ankle injury that kept him out of last week’s game against NC State.

Despite being only about 50% and unable to use the running ability that has been such a big part of his team’s offense, Leonard Duke still found a way to lead the Seminoles 20-17 when he aggravated the injury and had to leave the game.

Armed with a defense that gave FSU fits before wearing down, with only 1 conference loss and a head-to-head showdown with UNC coming up in a couple of weeks, the Blue Devils will earn a rematch against the Seminoles in Charlotte on the 1st Saturday in December.

As long as Leonard can get and stay healthy enough to play at somewhere close to his usual level.

1. The ACC needs Florida State to run the table

It’s OK to pull for your team when it plays the Seminoles. But if you’re a fan of the ACC and are interested in its long-term survival, it’s in your best interest to hope that Florida State finishes the regular season undefeated.

With no one else ranked higher than 17th in this week’s polls, it’s unrealistic to think that anyone other than the undefeated Seminoles stands any chance of getting into the Playoff. And even then, Mike Norvell’s team will have to keep playing for style points to protect their current standing among the nation’s top 4.

Getting into the Playoff doesn’t just help the ACC from a competitive standpoint. It would also serve as a reminder to the folks in Tallahassee that their current league affiliation offers them a much more direct path to national championships than the loaded SEC. While at the same time helping to at least put a dent into the revenue gap that has FSU – among others – so eager to leave.