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GREENSBORO -- We have to get something clear from the start. No team in the Coastal Division of the ACC controls its own destiny. That's because -- by definition -- nobody controls his or her own destiny. Look it up. I promise I'm right about this.

Likewise, it is highly unlikely that a team will "literally" catch fire and win a championship. History doesn't give us many examples of simultaneous greatness and combustion. One exception might be Joan of Arc, but that's a discussion for another day.

If you hear or see any references to controlling destiny, feel free to scream. Please be suspicious of any sportscaster or sportswriter who says anything is literal. Question them with the tenacity of Oklahoma State coach Mike Gundy, who is now 41, who is still a man and whose team was figuratively bludgeoned by Texas Tech the other night.

And now it's time to discuss the races for the division titles in ACC football.

We'll start with the Coastal, because that's the one most likely to instigate references to destiny. Virginia Tech, Miami and North Carolina are all 3-2 in the conference. If the Hokies win their remaining three games, they're going to Tampa for the league title game. The same is true of the Hurricanes. It may be true of the Tar Heels.

Virginia Tech and Miami play one another Thursday at Dolphin Stadium. The victor will prevail in the division race if it also wins its two subsequent contests.

The Tar Heels are rooting for the Canes, whom they defeated earlier this season. They do not like the Hokies, who won in Chapel Hill when the Heels started acting like the Hokies by committing a series of personal-foul penalties. Head-to-head result is the first tiebreaker, and it's clearly preferable to the last one, which is a random draw.

If Miami wins, UNC's task is easy to describe if not to achieve: three wins (at Maryland, home with N.C. State, at Duke) and the Tar Heels are going to Tampa.

The Hokies will be in great shape if they prevail at Dolphin Stadium. That's because they close the regular season by playing host to Duke and Virginia, both of which seem to be fading down the stretch.

All the involved teams have some control over their own performance.

Over in the Atlantic, which isn't necessarily far from the Coastal by literal definitions, things also can be frantic.

Wake Forest (4-2), Florida State (4-2) and Maryland (3-2) are tied for the division's top spot in the loss column. Simple version: If the Demon Deacons win their final two ACC games, they're probably going to the league championship game. If they lose either, they're probably in a lower-tier bowl game.

If Wake wins at N.C. State this week and against visiting Boston College on Nov. 22, it can only be denied if Maryland wins its three remaining games: home with North Carolina, home with Florida State and at Boston College. And clearly, if the Terrapins do that, they'll deserve the honor. They'll be 5-0 in the division.

If you are willing to subject yourself to a headache, please read on. If not, this is the part where you drop off the ride.

Wake's worst-case scenario is a loss at State combined with victories by the Terps (over UNC) and Seminoles (over Boston College). If that transpires Saturday, the Deacons will be eliminated from the division title race.

The Deacs are in the bizarre spot of rooting for the Tar Heels, who pose no threat because they're in the other division and because they take on the Terps, who claimed that all-important head-to-head win over Wake in College Park last month.

FSU needs two wins and a Wake loss at minimum. If the Deacs win and the Noles lose this week, they can bid farewell to their title hopes in Tallahassee.

By a curious schedule twist, BC is in fourth place but in decent position. If the Eagles win out, they'll be going to the title game with a seemingly pedestrian 5-3 league record. But such a ledger will be deceiving. BC's remaining opponents are Wake, FSU and Maryland.

If the Terrapins win the next two weeks while the Deacs lose once, the Fridge will be Tampa-bound. Unless the Eagles also win the next two weeks, in which case the de facto Atlantic Division championship game will be played Nov. 29 upon Chestnut Hill.

In any event, it will not be literally compelling theatre. But it might still be fun.

Contact Rob Daniels at 373-7028 or rob.daniels@news-record.com