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2021 ACC Championship Game

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For the ACC men's basketball championship, see 2021 ACC Men's Basketball Tournament.

MVPErick Hallet, (FS, Pittsburgh)
2021 Atlantic Coast Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team   W   L     W   L  
Atlantic Division
No. 15 Wake Forest xy   7 – 1     11 – 3  
No. 20 NC State   6 – 2     9 – 3  
No. 14 Clemson   6 – 2     10 – 3  
Louisville   4 – 4     6 – 7  
Florida State   4 – 4     5 – 7  
Syracuse   2 – 6     5 – 7  
Boston College   2 – 6     6 – 6  
Coastal Division
No. 13 Pittsburgh xy$   7 – 1     11 – 3  
Miami (FL)   5 – 3     7 – 5  
Virginia   4 – 4     6 – 6  
Virginia Tech   4 – 4     6 – 7  
North Carolina   3 – 5     6 – 7  
Georgia Tech   2 – 6     3 – 9  
Duke   0 – 8     3 – 9  
Championship: Pittsburgh 45, Wake Forest 21
  • $ – Conference champion
  • x – Division champion/co-champions
  • y – Championship game participant
Rankings from AP Poll

The 2021 ACC Championship Game was a college football game played on December 4, 2021, at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina.[2] It was the 17th edition of the ACC Championship Game and determined the champion of the Atlantic Coast Conference for the 2021 season. The game began at 8:15 p.m. EST and aired on ABC. The game featured the Wake Forest Demon Deacons, the Atlantic Division champions, and the Pittsburgh Panthers, the Coastal Division champions. Sponsored by restaurant chain Subway, the game was known as the Subway ACC Championship Game.

Teams

The 2021 ACC Championship Game featured the Pittsburgh Panthers, champions of the Coastal Division, and the Wake Forest Demon Deacons, champions of the Atlantic Division. It was only the second all-time meeting between the teams, with Pittsburgh winning the only previous meeting, in 2018, by a score of 34–13.[3] This was each teams' second appearance in the ACC title game; Wake Forest won its lone previous appearance in 2006, while Pittsburgh lost its lone previous appearance in 2018.[3]

This was the first ACC Championship game since 2014 where Clemson does not appear; the Tigers have won each of the last six championship games.[4] Further, Pittsburgh will attempt to become the first Coastal Division team to win the ACC Championship since Virginia Tech did it in 2010.[5] Entering the game, the winner of the last eight ACC Championship Games has gone on to compete in the College Football Playoff; it is expected that the streak will not continue to include the 2021 champions.[6]

Pittsburgh

Main article: 2021 Pittsburgh Panthers football team

Led by head coach Pat Narduzzi, in his seventh season, the Pittsburgh Panthers opened their 2021 campaign with a rout of UMass at home.[7] The Panthers followed this victory with a road contest against Tennessee; after a slow start, a 27-point second quarter propelled them to a one-touchdown win, 41–34.[8] Pitt's third game of the season saw them face Western Michigan, who scored an upset against the Panthers in a 44–41 win, the first Power Five win they'd achieved under head coach Tim Lester.[9] This was all despite the fact that Pitt quarterback Kenny Pickett succeeded in tying the school's single-game record for passing touchdowns, set by Dan Marino, with six.[10] Narduzzi's squad was able to bounce back the following week, as they "drilled" New Hampshire by ten touchdowns to move to 3–1.[11] A pair of conference games on the road faced the Panthers to open the month of October; they defeated Georgia Tech by a 31-point margin, in a win that was helped by the Pitt defense intercepting Tech quarterback Jeff Sims on each of his first two passes of the game, the second of which was returned for a touchdown.[12] Pitt continued their good form in the following week's game at Virginia Tech, where they won a lower-scoring contest by a margin of three touchdowns.[13] This second win propelled the Panthers into the AP Poll for the first time in the season, as they were ranked No. 23 entering their next matchup against defending ACC champions Clemson.[14] Pittsburgh defeated Clemson by ten points,[15] before concluding October with a home game against Miami, who was able to hand Pitt their second loss of the season with a four point win.[16] Pittsburgh was able to respond again, as they got through November with a perfect record following defeats of Duke,[17] North Carolina,[18] Virginia,[19] and Syracuse,[20] sending them to the title game with a 10–2 record. They clinched their spot in the championship game on November 20, after their defeat of Virginia.[19]

Wake Forest

Main article: 2021 Wake Forest Demon Deacons football team

The Demon Deacons and eighth-year head coach Dave Clawson opened their season with a trio of home games. The first two, both non-conference, saw the Deacons defeat Old Dominion and Norfolk State with relative ease, by margins of 32 and 25 points, respectively.[21][22] The Demon Deacons opened conference play the following week at home against Florida State, winning the game by three touchdowns.[23] They fared similarly the following Friday evening at Virginia, as Wake defeated the Cavaliers by twenty and,[24] as a result, entered the AP Poll at No. 24 the following week.[25] Wake forest returned home and edged Louisville in a three-point contest.[26] Another three-point game followed, as No. 19 Wake Forest defeated Syracuse on the road in overtime to move to 6–0.[27] To finish the month of October, the Demon Deacons defeated Army in a high scoring 70–56 affair that saw quarterback Sam Hartman set a new Michie Stadium record for single-game passing yards[28] and featured just one punt in its entirety.[29] Wake returned home to conclude the month for their homecoming game against Duke, and defeated the Blue Devils by 38 points to move to 8–0 on the year, marking the best start to a season in school history.[30] The following week, Wake achieved a ranking of No. 9 in the first College Football Playoff rankings to be released,[31] but suffered their season's first loss on the road against North Carolina;[32] though North Carolina is an ACC opponent, the game did not count as a conference game since it was scheduled between the two schools in order to play each other more often than ACC scheduling would otherwise allow.[33] In their home finale, the Demon Deacons earned their first win over a ranked opponent when they defeated No. 16 NC State by a field goal.[34] The Deacons returned to the top ten in time for their matchup with Clemson, though the Tigers defeated Wake in convincing fashion, handing the Demon Deacons their first conference loss of the season.[35] Despite this, Wake Forest secured its spot in the championship game in its final regular season game on November 27, defeating Boston College by a score of 41–10.[36]

Game summary

2021 Subway ACC Championship Game
Quarter 1 2 34Total
No. 15 Pittsburgh 14 10 71445
No. 16 Wake Forest 21 0 0021

at Bank of America Stadium • Charlotte, North Carolina

Game information
First quarter
  • 13:42 Pittsburgh – Kenny Pickett 58 yard run (Sam Scarton kick) – 5 plays, 75 yards, 1:18 (Pittsburgh 7–0)
  • 10:48 Wake Forest – A. T. Perry 5 yard pass from Sam Hartman (Nick Sciba kick) – 11 plays, 75 yards, 2:54 (tied 7–7)
  • 9:37 Pittsburgh – Kenny Pickett pass to Rodney Hammond Jr. for 22 yds (Sam Scarton kick) – 4 plays, 75 yards, 1:11 (Pittsburgh 14–7)
  • 6:31 Wake Forest – Sam Hartman run for 11 yards (Nick Sciba kick) – 12 plays, 75 yards, 3:06 (tied 14–14)
  • 3:07 Wake Forest – Taylor Morin 26 yard pass from Sam Hartman (Nick Sciba kick) – 4 plays, 69 yards, 1:09 (Wake Forest 21–14)
Second quarter
  • 8:21 Pittsburgh – Jared Wayne 4 yard pass from Kenny Pickett (Sam Scarton kick) – 5 plays, 32 yards, 1:21 (tied 21–21)
  • 0:00 Pittsburgh – Sam Scarton 41 yard field goal – 5 plays, 57 yards, 0:55 (Pittsburgh 24–21)
Third quarter
  • 0:47 Pittsburgh – I. Abanikanda run for 12 yards (Sam Scarton kick) – 4 plays, 45 yards, 1:20 (Pittsburgh 31–21)
Fourth quarter
  • 11:57 Pittsburgh – I. Abanikanda run for 1 yard (Sam Scarton kick) – 3 plays, 3 yards, 1:29 (Pittsburgh 38–21)
  • 11:42 Pittsburgh – E. Hallett interception return for 19 yards (Sam Scarton kick) (Pittsburgh 45–21)

Fake slide controversy

On the first drive of the game, Pittsburgh quarterback Kenny Pickett scored a touchdown on a 58 yard run to put the Pittsburgh Panthers up 7-0. During the run, around the Demon Deacons' 40-yard line, Pickett dipped his right knee as though he were going to slide and give himself up. Pickett did not slide and continued running for a touchdown.

The "fake slide" was immediately the subject of controversy. In college football, a defensive player who makes contact with a quarterback who is giving themselves up can be subject to a 15-yard unnecessary roughness penalty or possibly ejection.[37] As a result, defensive players usually let up and avoid continuing a play when a quarterback initiates a slide. Pickett acknowledged that his fake slide intentionally took advantage of this, saying, "Yeah, it was intentional. I just kind of started slowing down and pulling up and getting ready to slide. I just kind of saw their body language and they just pulled up as well."[38]

After the game, many acknowledged the play as innovative and clever while simultaneously arguing it was a rules loophole that should be closed. For example, Wake Forest coach Dave Clawson acknowledged there was no rule preventing Pickett from fake sliding and praised such a play as "brilliant" while pointing out that it placed the defense at a huge disadvantage.[38] Former NFL referee Gene Steratore said, "I wish they would implement a change in the rule effective immediately just to get rid of it. Just make it a blown dead play. I’d love to see them do that right now so that they don’t run into another situation like that potentially during the Bowls and the national championship games."[38] He also said, "It’s not in the rulebook. It was never addressed. So give [Pickett] kudos for being an innovative thinker that’s reading a fine line in the rules and finding a way to gain an advantage—legally and by rule—until they change it."[38]

On December 10, 2021, the NCAA Rules Committee published an approved ruling to prohibit future use of a fake slide. The interpretation, informally named by some as the "Kenny Pickett rule," states that "[a]ny time a ball carrier begins, simulates, or fakes a feet-first slide, the ball shall be declared dead by the on field officials at that point."[39] In response, Pickett tweeted, "Changed the game! #H2P".[40] This rule was codified for 2022 during the NCAA Rules Committee meeting in March, 2022.

Statistics

Source:[41]

Team statistics

Team statistical comparison
Statistic Pittsburgh Wake Forest
First downs 22 24
First downs rushing 8 7
First downs passing 11 13
First downs penalty 3 4
Third down efficiency 4–14 7–19
Fourth down efficiency 0–1 0–1
Total plays–net yards 72–385 85–295
Rushing attempts–net yards 38–112 39–82
Yards per rush 2.9 2.1
Yards passing 273 213
Pass completions–attempts 21–34 24–46
Interceptions thrown 0 4
Punt returns–total yards 1–39 0–0
Kickoff returns–total yards 0–0 2–53
Punts–total yardage 7–264 8–343
Fumbles–lost 3–0 0–0
Penalties–yards 8–70 8–70
Time of possession 31:13 28:06

Individual statistics

Pittsburgh statistics
Panthers passing
C–A Yds TD INT
Kenny Pickett 20–33 253 2 0
Jared Wayne 1–1 20 0 0
Panthers rushing
Car Yds TD Avg
Israel Abanikanda 9 55 2 6.1
Vincent Davis 11 39 0 3.5
Rodney Hammond Jr. 6 22 0 3.7
Kenny Pickett 6 20 1 3.3
Jordan Addison 1 5 0 5.0
Team 5 -29 0 -5.8
Panthers receiving
Rec Yds TD Avg
Jordan Addison 8 126 0 15.8
Jared Wayne 3 48 1 16
Lucas Krull 2 38 0 19
Rodney Hammond Jr 3 30 1 10
Jaden Bradley 1 15 0 15
Shocky Jacques-Louis 2 12 0 6
Gavin Bartholomew 1 7 0 7
Israel Abanikanda 1 -3 0 -3
Wake Forest statistics
Demon Deacons passing
C–A Yds TD INT
Sam Hartman 21–46 213 2 4
Demon Deacons rushing
Car Yds TD Avg
Christian Turner 6 34 0 5.7
Christian Beal-Smith 10 24 0 2.4
Quinton Cooley 4 11 0 2.8
Ahmani Marshall 3 7 0 2.3
Justice Ellison 4 5 0 1.3
Taylor Morin 1 1 0 1.0
Sam Hartman 11 0 1 0.0
Demon Deacons receiving
Rec Yds TD Avg
Taylor Morin 4 83 1 20.8
Jaquarii Roberson 9 54 0 6
A.T. Perry 5 54 1 10.8
Ke'Shawn Williams 1 11 0 11
Christian Beal-Smith 1 6 0 6
Quinton Cooley 1 5 0 5

References

  1. ^ "Officiating crews for the 2021 college football conference championship games". footballzebras.com. November 30, 2021. Retrieved December 4, 2021.
  2. ^ "2021 Football Schedule Announced". theacc.com.
  3. ^ a b "Pittsburgh Football Game Notes - ACC Championship Game" (PDF). Pittsburgh Panthers Football. Retrieved December 2, 2021.
  4. ^ Bromberg, Nick (October 23, 2021). "College football Week 8 winners and losers: Our best conference title game predictions". Yahoo! Sports. Retrieved December 2, 2021.
  5. ^ "Virginia Tech headed to Orange Bowl as Tyrod Taylor burns Florida State". ESPN. December 5, 2010. Retrieved December 2, 2021.
  6. ^ "2021 Subway ACC Football Championship Game Kickoff Set for Primetime". Atlantic Coast Conference. September 22, 2021. Retrieved December 2, 2021.
  7. ^ Wilson, Mike (September 4, 2021). "Pitt trounces UMass in 51-7 in 2021 season opener". SB Nation. Retrieved December 2, 2021.
  8. ^ "Pickett leads Pitt past Tennessee, 41-34". CBS Sports. September 11, 2021. Retrieved December 2, 2021.
  9. ^ Graves, Will (September 18, 2021). "Western Michigan stuns Pittsburgh 44-41". WWMT. Retrieved December 2, 2021.
  10. ^ Buckley, Nick (September 18, 2021). "Western Michigan football pulls off upset at Pitt, 44-41, for first Power 5 win since 2016". Detroit Free Press. Retrieved December 2, 2021.
  11. ^ "Pitt bounces back after upset, drills New Hampshire 77-7". ESPN. September 25, 2021. Retrieved December 2, 2021.
  12. ^ "College Football News: Pickett and Pitt keep rolling, blast Georgia Tech 52-21". Vegas Insider. October 2, 2021. Retrieved December 2, 2021.
  13. ^ Manning, Bryan D. (October 17, 2021). "Virginia Tech football: 5 takeaways from Hokies' 28-7 loss to Pitt". SB Nation. Retrieved December 2, 2021.
  14. ^ "Panthers Move Into AP Top 25, Ranked 23". KDKA CBS Pittsburgh. October 17, 2021. Retrieved December 2, 2021.
  15. ^ Whaley, Anson (October 23, 2021). "No. 23 Pitt defeats Clemson, 27-17". SB Nation. Retrieved December 3, 2021.
  16. ^ Bleich, Carl (October 30, 2021). "Recap: Miami hangs on for massive victory over No.17 Pittsburgh". SB Nation. Retrieved December 3, 2021.
  17. ^ "Pickett passes Pittsburgh past Duke, 54-29". CBS Sports. November 6, 2021. Retrieved December 3, 2021.
  18. ^ "UNC Football Fights Back, Falls in OT at Pittsburgh, 30-23". Tar Heel Times. November 11, 2021. Retrieved December 3, 2021.
  19. ^ a b Richetti, Frankie (November 20, 2021). "Pitt takes down Virginia 48-38 at Heinz Field, clinching Coastal Division". The Pitt News. Retrieved December 2, 2021.
  20. ^ Cassillo, John (November 27, 2021). "Final score: Pittsburgh 31, Syracuse 14". SB Nation. Retrieved December 3, 2021.
  21. ^ "Beal-Smith, Taylor help Wake Forest beat Old Dominion 42-10". ESPN. September 3, 2021. Retrieved December 3, 2021.
  22. ^ "Wake Forest scores 20 unanswered in win over Norfolk State". CBS Sports. September 11, 2021. Retrieved December 3, 2021.
  23. ^ Lewis, Dustin (September 18, 2021). "Recap: Wake Forest pounds Florida State, 35-14". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved December 3, 2021.
  24. ^ "Hartman, Demon Deacons easily handle Virginia, 37-17". CBS Sports. September 24, 2021. Retrieved December 3, 2021.
  25. ^ Debro, Cameron Lemons (September 26, 2021). "Wake Forest Football: Ranked?". SB Nation. Retrieved December 3, 2021.
  26. ^ "Sciba's kick lifts No. 24 Wake Forest past Louisville, 37-34". Spectrum News 1. October 3, 2021. Retrieved December 3, 2021.
  27. ^ McAllister, Mike (October 9, 2021). "Syracuse Suffers Heartbreaking Loss to Wake Forest in Overtime". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved December 3, 2021.
  28. ^ "No. 16 Wake Forest Beats Army 70-56 Behind Hartman". Atlantic Coast Conference. October 23, 2021. Retrieved December 3, 2021.
  29. ^ "Recap In Brief: Wake Forest Has Historic Day, Beats Army 70-56". SB Nation. October 24, 2021. Retrieved December 3, 2021.
  30. ^ "Hartman, No. 13 Wake Forest top Duke 45-7 to stay unbeaten". CBS Sports. October 30, 2021. Retrieved December 3, 2021.
  31. ^ Wooten, Eddie (November 2, 2021). "Wake Forest is No. 9 in season's first College Football Playoff rankings". Winston-Salem Journal. Retrieved December 3, 2021.
  32. ^ "Recap In Brief: UNC Breaks Wake's Streak, 58-55". SB Nation. November 6, 2021. Retrieved December 3, 2021.
  33. ^ Wolken, Dan (January 26, 2015). "ACC teams Wake Forest and North Carolina schedule non-conference matchups". USA Today. Retrieved December 3, 2021.
  34. ^ Giglio, Joe (November 13, 2021). "No. 16 NC State falls at No. 12 Wake Forest in key ACC showdown". WRAL Sports Fan. Retrieved December 3, 2021.
  35. ^ Shanesy, Todd (November 20, 2021). "Instant analysis: 5 takeaways from Clemson's 48-27 win against Wake Forest". The Greenville News. Retrieved December 3, 2021.
  36. ^ "No. 21 Wake Forest beats BC 41-10, will play for ACC title". ESPN. Associated Press. November 27, 2021. Retrieved November 27, 2021.
  37. ^ Kasabian, Paul (December 10, 2021). "NCAA Bans 'Fake Slide' After Kenny Pickett's Rushing TD in ACC Championship Game". Bleacher Report. Retrieved December 12, 2021.
  38. ^ a b c d Benz, Tim (December 7, 2021). "Football rules experts agree: Controversy over Kenny Pickett's fake slide needs to be addressed 'effective immediately'". TribLIVE. Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. Retrieved December 12, 2021.
  39. ^ "The Kenny Pickett rule: NCAA decides fake slides to be blown dead in the future". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. December 10, 2021. Retrieved December 12, 2021.
  40. ^ @kennypickett10 (December 10, 2021). "Changed the game! #H2P" (Tweet) – via Twitter. #H2P stands for Hail to Pitt, the traditional fight song of the Pittsburgh Panthers.
  41. ^ "Wake Forest vs Pittsburgh - Football - 12/4/2021 - Box Score - Atlantic Coast Conference". theacc.com. Atlantic Coast Conference. December 4, 2021. Retrieved December 14, 2021.
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