Actually, despite the logjam at the top of the standings -- six teams with two conference losses, three in each division, and three more within a game or half-game of the leaderss -- there is some certainty before Virginia Tech's game tonight at Miami: Virginia Tech and Maryland control their destinies. Who's booking tickets to Tampa for a rematch of last Thursday night? Bueller?

Not that I would actually describe either as a favorite at this point, especially Maryland; not only is this the team with double-digit losses at Middle Tennessee, Virginia and a quarterback-less edition of Va Tech, but there's still an outside chance the Terps will actually finish last in the Atlantic Division and miss a bowl game if their presumed underdog status holds form down the stretch against three of the better teams in the conference, Florida State, Miami and Boston College. I'm not sure Ralph Friedgen is even completely off the hot seat.

Your better bet is on Wake Forest, which loses a head-to-head tiebreaker with Maryland but is two wins against NC State and Boston College from sealing the division barring a stunning Terp run. Of the possibilities, Florida State may be the best team in the conference at the moment, but the Noles' horrific, turnover-fueled disaster against Wake in September puts their fate largely in the Wolfpack and Eagles' hands. There is no trusting anyone.

The Coastal Division, after tonight's game, will have a new dynamic, either as Virginia Tech's punching bag or North Carolina's oyster. The Hokies suggested last week they're ready to do their usual November thing, locking the stadium down on defense and plowing away on offense like it doesn't matter who's under center. And since they're now 9-0 in November with Sean Glennon at quarterback, I guess it doesn't, really -- especially now that they've discovered rock-man Darren Evans and sent him rolling downhill. Anything comparable to last Thursday night against Miami, and you can start the countdown to another Hokie title. For real this time.

Otherwise, North Carolina has won five out of six and has the most forgiving possible stretch run: If the Heels get by Maryland Saturday, they close with N.C. State and Duke. If Virginia Tech in full-on Virginia Tech mode is as close as this conference comes to a sure thing, any Hokie stumble -- tonight in Miami is as likely a time as any -- puts the ball squarely in UNC's court. And if the Canes do come away with a win, they'd only be one North Carolina loss away from assuming the Coastal mantle themselves going into Georgia Tech. And if the Jackets win there, it gets really complicated.

You want a rundown of how Clemson can still make the ACC Championship? Or a four-game scenario over the last three weeks that leads to a four-way tie at 5-3 in the Coastal Division? It's mid-November, and pretty much anything is possible here.