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Week 9 storylines: Florida State-Clemson will shape the ACC

Logan Bowles / USA TODAY Sports

Each week, theScore presents its most noteworthy storylines to watch come Saturday. Here are three worth following as the schedule hits Week 9:

The ACC Atlantic triangle

The ACC Atlantic is a three-team race, but only Clemson controls its own destiny. If the Tigers go to Tallahassee and defeat Florida State, they'll be the conference's lone undefeated squad, and sit firmly ahead of the Seminoles and Louisville in the division. If they lose, they'll still lead the division, but it'll give the College Football Playoff selection committee plenty to consider with this pending head-to-head situation:

  • Florida State def. Clemson
  • Louisville def. Florida State
  • Clemson def. Louisville

To make a long story short, Clemson can all but punch its ticket to the ACC Championship if it beats Florida State. A loss to the Seminoles, though, keeps Florida State alive, gives Louisville hope, and allows for a variety of scenarios to unfold down the stretch that could affect the playoff picture.

Struggling coaches on the hot seat

Brian Kelly, Charlie Strong, and Mark Helfrich are all on the hot seat. While Kelly received a public vote of confidence from Notre Dame's athletic director last week and seems safe - for now - his two compatriots look to be in the deep end of the danger zone.

All three coaches face challenging Week 9 opponents, though Strong has his work cut out most with Texas set to face the No. 8 team in the country, one week after the Longhorns fell to Kansas State:

Team Opponent
Notre Dame (Kelly) Miami
Texas (Strong) Baylor
Oregon (Helfrich) Arizona State

The leash appears to be getting shorter and shorter for each of these coaches, and a defeat this weekend could spell the immediate end for at least one of them.

Washington enters the Beehive State

Nobody is sleeping on Washington anymore, but it's worth noting the Huskies have faced just one ranked opponent this year. They'll get their second-ranked foe in the form of No. 17 Utah, and the weakness of the Pac-12 means Washington likely needs a win here to eventually secure a playoff berth.

The only other ranked team Washington played this season was Stanford, but the Cardinal - then No. 7 - has since slipped all the way out of the top 25. With the first playoff rankings set to come out Tuesday, Chris Petersen's club would be well-served to make a statement with a road win over the Utes.

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