Does NC State have a path to the ACC title game after its 31-30 loss at Miami? The answer is definitely yes, but a closer look reveals how the margin for error becomes incredibly slim now.

We explain that and more in our 3-2-1 format.

1. Miami did Wake Forest a huge favor. Any serious discussion about a team's schedule must take into account the timing of when you play teams.

For instance, it looks like any opponent that will play Clemson the rest of the way will have it better than those who had to face them early in the year considering the rash of injuries the Tigers have now suffered.

Conversely, any team that got Florida State early in the season was better off for it.

Wake Forest checks both of those boxes. What was once thought to be a daunting final three-game stretch against NC State, Clemson and Boston College, the latter two on the road, looks less so as both the Tigers and Eagles are fading out of the ACC Atlantic Division picture.

And now NC State has a loss on its record thanks to Miami. That means the Demon Deacons, who will host Duke this coming weekend, has a golden opportunity ahead of itself. If it beats the Blue Devils to improve to 5-0 in the ACC, it'll need to just beat NC State at home on Nov. 13 to all but clinch the Atlantic.

The only way that does not happen is if was to lose out, and then it would require Clemson winning out.

2. NC State really cannot slip up again. ESPN's FPI gives the Pack a better than 50-50 chance to win all of its remaining games, and despite Wake Forest's undefeated record there are plenty of questions about the Demon Deacons, especially defensively.

Wake Forest has also been the beneficiary, as noted, of a nice schedule set-up. That included playing Virginia when the Cavs were undergoing its mini-slump that has since been righted.

But when looking at how the slate is unfolding for WFU, the reality is that NC State needs to prove ESPN FPI right and win out. This is where the scheduling luck may not be working in the Pack's favor. Louisville is coming to Raleigh riding high off a home win over Boston College and has been competitive in all their ACC games. Then Florida State is turning the corner after going back to Jordan Travis at quarterback.

Syracuse and UNC at home after a must-win at Wake Forest will not be cakewalks, either.

But then again, the scheduling luck can flip at any moment for both the Wolfpack and Wake Forest.

3. Who else has hope? A three-loss team seems highly unlikely to win the Atlantic, so Boston College and tough-luck Syracuse look out of the equation.

Of the three two-loss teams, Louisville has to play at NC State and host Clemson the next two weeks, but if it can pull those two out, it finishes by playing Syracuse at home and at Duke. Considering that Wake Forest beat the Cards however, Louisville will need a lot of help from teams beating the Deacons to climb into the mix.

Florida State is in that same category.

Clemson and FSU are playing a de facto Atlantic elimination game Saturday in Clemson. Loser gets a third conference loss and realistically is done in contention for the division title. The Tigers still have to play at Louisville and host Wake Forest, too, so it will be a tall order regardless if it wins Saturday, but of the group they seem to have the most realistic shot of the two-loss teams.

1. The first is obvious. As noted above, the Pack's best bet is to win out. ESPN's FPI gives NC State a 66.6 percent or better chance in all but the game at Wake Forest, where it believes the Wolfpack has a 54.7 percent of pulling off a win.

Those odds are all better than the barely above 50.0 percent chance it provided NC State to beat Miami. Considering how that game turned out, ESPN's FPI had a good read on the contest, even if a lot of observers would not have believed it.

2. A Wake Forest slip up changes the game. Any power ranking of the ACC is going to have Duke at the bottom of the list, so if somehow the Blue Devils stun Wake Forest this weekend, it completely changes the dynamics of the Atlantic Division race.

That's not very realistic, however. Wake Forest is a 17-point favorite. Thus the more likely Wake Forest slip up would come after it plays NC State.

Hence, a best-case scenario for NC State is to win its next two games and then follow it up with a big road win at Wake Forest. Then turn that momentum into a home win over Syracuse while the Deacons let one loss turn into two with a fall at Clemson.

That would clinch the Atlantic a week ahead of the finish of the regular season.

If you are looking for some hope that could happen, Wake Forest is very dependent on its offense scoring at the moment. At some point for almost every team in every season, there comes a stretch where the offense stumbles and loses its rhythm.

1. It's still Pittsburgh's to lose. They are 3-0 in the conference, and every other team in the Coastal now has two losses already after Virginia Tech was surprised by Syracuse at home Saturday, perhaps turning into motion a coaching change in Blacksburg, Va., this offseason.

However, Pitt still has to be careful. A loss at home to Miami this weekend would not be ideal. The Hurricanes would improve to 2-2 in the ACC at that point, and it would probably be favored in its remaining four games as its schedule lightens up.

Pittsburgh also has to beat a capable UNC team at home and has Virginia coming to town. The latter is now 4-2 in the conference.

If somehow both Miami and Virginia were to beat Pitt and then win out (Virginia's only other ACC game is hosting Virginia Tech), then the Panthers suddenly has lost the Coastal.

In other words, it's not a done deal, but Pittsburgh is still sitting (very) pretty.

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