How Far Can 10th-Place Cal Climb in the ACC Standings?

Cal enters Big Game week alone in 10th place in the ACC standings with a 3-3 record.

That’s better Stanford, which is tied for 14th at 2-7 in conference games. But it’s clearly not where the Golden Bears would like to be.

And, with two weeks left in the regular season, it’s not where they have to wind up.

In the logjam that is the ACC, No. 15 Georgia Tech and No. 19 Virginia share first place at 6-1, with Pitt and SMU tied for third, a hair back at 5-1. No. 14 Miami and Duke are 4-2, meaning six teams at the top are separated by just a game-and-a-half.

That group is followed by Louisville and Wake Forest at 4-3. Preseason favorite Clemson has scrapped its way to a final conference record of 4-4 and currently resides in ninth place.

That brings us to Cal, which squared its conference record after its 29-26 overtime win at Louisville a week ago.

The Bears cannot catch Georgia Tech or Virginia at the top, but there is opportunity for them to ascend . . . potentially all the way to a six-way share of third place in the 17-team conference.

That would represent the Bears’ first winning conference record since going 5-4 in the Pac-10 (not even the Pac-12 yet!) way back in 2009.

The equation obviously requires the Bears to handle their business, beating Stanford and then SMU two days after Thanksgiving in Berkeley.

And yes, there are a lot of other pieces that have to fall into place for this scenario to unfold in the Bears’ favor. A couple of them involve upsets, but not most of them.

Here’s what needs to happen (teams listed in current order of the ACC standings):

1 tie. GEORGIA TECH 6-1: The Yellow Jackets’ contribution to Cal’s mission would be a home victory Saturday vs. Pittsburgh. Tech closes at home vs. non-conference, in-state rival Georgia. Projected final ACC record: 7-1/tie for the regular-season title

1 tie. VIRGINIA 6-1: Nothing the Cavaliers do impacts the Bears. They have a bye this week before a home finale vs. Virginia Tech. Projected final ACC record: 7-1/tie for the regular-season title

3 tie. SMU 5-1: The Bears need the Mustangs to lose to Louisville in Dallas this Saturday, then Cal must beat SMU a week later. If that happens . . . Projected final ACC record: 5-3/tie 3rd

3 tie. PITT 5-1: If the Panthers, coming off a beatdown at the hands of Notre Dame, sustain losses at Georgia Tech and at home vs. Miami — hardly a far-fetched scenario — the Panthers will plummet. Projected final ACC record: 5-3/tie 3rd

5 tie. MIAMI 4-2: Cal fans need to root for the Hurricanes to stumble at Virginia Tech then win at Pitt. Projected final ACC record: 5-3/tie 3rd

5 tie. DUKE 4-2: The path that works for the Bears involves the Blue Devils losing at North Carolina, then winning at home vs. Wake Forest. Projected final ACC record: 5-3/tie 3rd

7 tie. LOUISVILLE 4-3: The Cardinals close their ACC schedule at SMU this week and the Bears need them to win. Louisville finishes with a non-conference home rivalry game vs. Kentucky. Projected final ACC record: 5-3/tie 3rd

7 tie. WAKE FOREST 4-3: The Demon Deacons’ non-conference game Saturday vs. Delaware doesn’t affect the ACC standings. But Cal wants Wake to lose at Duke. Projected final ACC record: 4-4/tie 9th

9. CLEMSON 4-4: The Tigers still can become bowl eligible, but need non-conference wins vs. Furman and at South Carolina. Their ACC slate is complete. Final ACC record: 4-4/tie 9th

10. CAL 3-3: The rest of this doesn’t matter unless the Bears win a fifth straight Big Game then return to Memorial Stadium and knock off SMU. If it all comes together, Cal zooms up the standings seven spots from its current position. Projected final ACC record: 5-3/tie 3rd

11 tie. VIRGINIA TECH 2-4: The Bears need a big favor from the Hokies in the form of an upset home victory vs. Miami. VA Tech closes at Virginia. Projected final ACC record: 3-5/tie 11th

11 tie. NC STATE 2-4: The schedule ends with home games vs. Florida State and North Carolina. We’ll give the Wolfpack a split. Projected final ACC record: 3-5/tie 11th

11 tie. NORTH CAROLINA 2-4: The Tar Heels have improved since the start of the season, maybe just enough to beat Duke at home before losing at NC State. Projected final ACC record: 3-5/tie 11th

14 tie. FLORIDA STATE 2-5: The Seminoles will show some resolve by winning at NC State this week. FSU closes a disappointing season with a non-conference rivalry game against Florida. Projected final ACC record: 3-5/tie 11th

14 tie. STANFORD 2-5: The Bears need to win the 128th Big Game before Stanford ends the one-year Frank Reich (interim) coaching era vs. Notre Dame. Projected final ACC record: 2-6/tie 15th

16. SYRACUSE 1-6: The Orange visits Notre Dame on Saturday then returns to ACC play for a season-ending home game vs. last-place Boston College. Projected final ACC record: 2-6/tie 15th

17. BOSTON COLLEGE 0-7: The Eagles have a bye this week which probably won’t help them a week later at Syracuse. Final projected ACC record: 0-8/17th

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