Alright, is the dream of an ACC Championship Game appearance dead?

No, but it certainly isn't looking great after the UVA loss.

Entering play this weekend, the Eagles are in a 6th place tie with Syracuse. The Orange are 4-4 overall and 1-1 in the conference while the Eagles sit at 4-2 and 1-1. BC and Syracuse will face off in Alumni in November and that game could mean a ton for both schools.

The UVA loss was an absolute killer just because Virginia simply wasn't as talented as BC and the Hoos now sit above the Eagles at 4-1 and 2-0. The head-to-head tie breaker could come into play, but a lot will need to happen.

A 'path' if you will.

The Eagles gave the game away and now, will be in an uphill battle to grab that second spot. They would have been anyways given how wide open the conference is, but now it's that much harder.

Clemson (4-1, 3-0) and Miami (3-0, 2-0) are the clear favorites and it feels like Miami has something going while dodging losses in wild fashion. Those kinds of finishes that the Hurricanes have had are ones that teams making runs to championship games always seem to have.

SMU (5-1, 2-0) and Pitt (5-0, 1-0) are also in front of BC. But, at least in this case the Eagles have a direct impact on how things shake out with games at SMU and howe against Pitt. This SMU team is not the same one that played out of its element in cold, raw weather during the bowl game and Pitt looks like e legitimate threat.

Duke is 5-1 and 1-1 in the conference and Louisville was just recently ranked before dropping to 3-2 and 1-1. The Cardinals are here next Friday night.Both programs along with Georgia Tech (4-2, 2-2) are teams that you're sort of in the same boat as right now in terms of good, but not sure exactly what they are.

Virginia Tech feels like the last team in that group of legitimate contenders in the middle of the pack. The Eagles can make a statement with a win in Lane Stadium on a Thursday night. A loss almost certainly ends any chance of reaching the conference title game, unless, you beat Syracuse, Louisville, SMU and Pitt. Not an easy task. It's hard to imagine Miami or Clemson losing more than two conference games the rest of the way.

Wake Forest (2-3, 1-1), Stanford (2-3, 1-2), Florida State (1-5, 1-4), Cal (3-2, 0-2), UNC (3-3, 0-2) and NC State (3-3, 0-2) have struggled with consistency early, but can give a team trouble any given week. The ACC gets some crap for its competitiveness (and FSU is legitimately that bad this year), but BC is a lot closer to that group than Miami, Clemson or SMU right now.

The Eagles can still have their best season since 2009 and reach eight wins, but when it comes to the ACC Championship, that UVA loss will be *the* loss when we look back on the season and talk about a possible 7-5 or even 6-6 finish. If things snowball here, last Saturday is the main culprit.

Momentum is a hell of a drug and the Eagles had a chance to grab a lot of it last weekend.

Instead, BC was forced to take a long look in the mirror this week before heading out to Blacksburg where The Sandman awaits.