Division-less ACC created opportunity for Louisville football to make history this season

Lamar Jackson was a generational player for the Cardinals.

The former Louisville quarterback, now with the Baltimore Ravens, had a stellar career and set several program records. His 2016 season — the way he dominated against Florida State on his way to becoming the program’s first Heisman Trophy winner — will be remembered forever by U of L fans.

But a 42-36 loss to Clemson in Death Valley kept Jackson and the Cardinals from advancing to the ACC championship game, which at the time, still featured the winners of the league's two divisions. With Louisville and Clemson in the Atlantic Division and both with 7-1 league records, the Tigers earned the berth on a head-to-head tiebreaker.

This season's Louisville team, set to make the program's first appearance in the ACC championship game, ended the regular season with the same conference record as the 2016 squad. But in the league's first year without divisions, where the two teams with the best winning percentage get to play for the conference title, the Cardinals will have an opportunity to win the ACC crown.

Louisville, which finished second in the ACC standings, will play fourth-ranked Florida State at 8 p.m. Saturday at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina.

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Under the previous format with divisions, it would be Virginia Tech facing the unbeaten Seminoles for the conference crown on Saturday. The Hokies, along with Georgia Tech, were the highest-finishing teams from the former Coastal Division. But the league's tiebreaker rules, and how the two fared against common opponents, would've given Virginia Tech the edge.

The Hokies finished the regular season behind three former Atlantic Division teams in the ACC standings (FSU, U of L, N.C. State).

“It truly came down to the top two teams,” FSU coach Mike Norvell said, later adding, “I thought it was great. I'm glad it didn't come down to a tiebreaker or any of those things. When you see two teams that have earned the opportunity to play in this championship, it's big."

Louisville coach Jeff Brohm expressed similar sentiments.

“I think if you asked a lot of people, that's the fair way to do it,” Brohm said. “I think you're going to see probably most conferences going to that same format to get your two best teams in the championship game. … If you want to try to get teams from your conference in the (College Football) Playoffs, you want to pit the two best teams against each other and hope that the pieces fall in the way they'd like.”

Louisville’s run to the ACC championship game was highlighted by road wins over N.C. State and Miami along with a 23-0 shutout home win over Duke, which was ranked among the top 25 at the time.

Though the CFP committee values a conference champion, the Cardinals’ chances were diminished by their home loss to Kentucky in the regular season finale and an even more costly loss on the road against Pitt.

The Seminoles are still in play, sitting at fourth in the latest CFP rankings. A win over Louisville for the conference title would make them a shoe-in.

But the Cardinals are aiming to spoil the Seminoles’ chances and perfect record with an opportunity Jackson and the 2016 Louisville team wasn’t afforded. The chance to add to their historic season isn’t something the Cards take lightly. It’s part of their motivation.

“That's something that nobody can ever take from you — being the first team to win a championship,” U of L linebacker TJ Quinn said. “Just with everything we've been through this season, to just see the reward that we can possibly get. Going into this week, we’ve just got to not let the pressure get to us. We've just got to go out and execute.”

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Reach Louisville football, women's basketball and baseball beat writer Alexis Cubit at acubit@gannett.com and follow her on X at @Alexis_Cubit.

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Louisville football: Format change helped Cards reach ACC title game