Virginia Tech didn’t play Saturday and still slid in the ACC standings. It also got the result it needed most.

Two of Saturday’s eight ACC games mattered more than the rest. Syracuse knocked off SMU, the team Virginia Tech visits Friday. Wake Forest, the team the Hokies needed to stumble, won by 44.

Virginia Tech (6–2, 3–2 ACC) entered its bye week fourth in the conference. It starts November in a three-way tie for fifth.

Through Saturday’s games:

• Miami, 6–0 (8–0)
• Wake Forest, 5–1 (7–1)
• Louisville, 4–2 (5–3)
• SMU, 4–2 (6–2)
• Duke, 3–2 (6–2)
• Virginia Tech, 3–2 (6–2)
• Clemson, 3–2 (5–3)

Syracuse stuns No. 19 SMU

Net for Virginia Tech: Helped, a lot

Syracuse quarterback Steve Angeli found tight end Noah Meyers for a 2-yard touchdown with 17 seconds left, and the Orange beat SMU 30–27 at noon.

The Mustangs started the day 4–1 in the ACC, tied with Wake Forest for second. Now they’re 4–2, the same number of league losses as Virginia Tech. The Hokies visit Dallas on Friday at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN.

That changes Friday. A Virginia Tech win would move the Hokies to 4–2 and drop SMU to 4–3. It would also give Virginia Tech the head-to-head result, which is the first thing the ACC checks when two teams finish tied.

Syracuse also showed how to slow SMU down. The Orange held the Mustangs to 70 rushing yards and sacked them four times.

Wake Forest routs Virginia

Net for Virginia Tech: Hurt, a lot

Hokies fans had a rare reason to pull for Virginia, and it didn’t help. No. 14 Wake Forest rolled 51–7 for its fifth straight win, and Ty Clark III ran for three short touchdowns.

Virginia Tech doesn’t play Wake Forest this season, and that’s the core problem. The Hokies’ best possible finish is 7–2. Wake Forest has SMU, Georgia Tech, and Duke left, so it can still finish 8–1.

So the Hokies need Wake Forest to lose, and one loss might not be enough. A 7–2 tie between teams that didn’t play goes to the Team Success Ranking from SportSource Analytics.

Watch Wake quarterback Gio Lopez. He left late in the third quarter with what Rivals reported as a right knee injury, though coach Jake Dickert said the “initial reports were good.”

And mark Nov. 14. A week after Hokies fans need SMU to lose, they’ll need the Mustangs to beat Wake Forest in Dallas. If Lopez misses time, that game looks a lot different.

Miami survives at North Carolina

Net for Virginia Tech: Hurt, slightly

No. 1 Miami trailed 28–24 in the fourth quarter in Chapel Hill before Mark Fletcher Jr.’s 2-yard touchdown run on fourth down put it back in front. The Hurricanes held on 38–35 to move to 8–0 and 6–0 in the ACC.

Miami still has Duke, Virginia Tech and Boston College left. If the Hokies win at Hard Rock Stadium on Nov. 21 and Miami loses one other league game, Virginia Tech would hold the tiebreaker over the conference leader. That’s the Hokies’ cleanest path to Charlotte, and North Carolina just showed Miami can be pushed.

Louisville pulls away from Stanford

Net for Virginia Tech: Hurt

Louisville beat Stanford 52–24 to move to 4–2 in the ACC. Virginia Tech doesn’t play the Cardinals, and they can still reach 7–2, so Hokies fans should pull for North Carolina on Nov. 14 and Pitt on Nov. 21. Stanford, which visits Lane Stadium on Nov. 14, has now lost 15 straight road games.

Duke rolls over Boston College

Net for Virginia Tech: Mixed

Nate Sheppard ran for five touchdowns in Duke’s 47–2 win. At 3–2, the Blue Devils are another team that can reach 7–2, but they also play at Miami on Nov. 14 and at Wake Forest on Nov. 28. They might hand either leader the loss Virginia Tech needs.

Clemson wins at Florida State

Net for Virginia Tech: Neutral

Clemson won 36–24 in Tallahassee to move to 3–2, but the Tigers play only eight league games, so their ceiling is 6–2. Under the ACC’s policy, that could still pull them into a tie with a 7–2 Virginia Tech. The Hokies’ 20–16 win in Death Valley on Oct. 24 would settle it.

Pitt snaps its skid against Georgia Tech

Net for Virginia Tech: Neutral

Pitt beat Georgia Tech 34–11 to end a three-game losing streak. The Panthers own the tiebreaker from their 35–33 win in Blacksburg on Oct. 2, but at 3–3, they have one more league loss than the Hokies.

NC State beats California

Net for Virginia Tech: Helped, slightly

NC State won 31–10 in its first game under interim coach Todd Goebbel. Cal owns the tiebreaker from its 25–20 win over Virginia Tech on Oct. 10, but at 2–4 it’s fading out of the race.

Why Friday is the season

Saturday turned Friday night in Dallas into an elimination game.

A win puts the Hokies at 4–2 with the SMU tiebreaker in hand and Stanford, Miami, and Virginia left. A loss makes them 3–3 with a 6–3 ceiling. At that point, Wake Forest would have to lose two of its last three just to give Virginia Tech a tiebreaker to argue about.

Syracuse did Virginia Tech a favor on Halloween. Friday, the Hokies find out whether they can use it.