The 2020 ACC Championship Game was a college football game played on Saturday, December 19, 2020, at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte.[2] This was the 16th ACC Championship Game and determined the 2020 champion of the Atlantic Coast Conference. This season, the ACC used a one division format.[3] Instead of representatives from two divisions, the two teams with the best conference records earned a spot in the game.[4] Sponsored by restaurant chain Subway, the game was known as the ACC Championship Game presented by Subway.
The game was originally scheduled for December 5. However, the COVID-19 pandemic pushed the game back to either December 12 or 19 when the revised ACC schedule was released[5] and subsequently to December 19.[6] Attendance for the game was capped at 5,240, or 7% of the capacity of Bank of America Stadium due to Governor Roy Cooper's order limiting outdoor stadiums to 7% capacity.[7]
Clemson entered the championship game with a record of 9–1 (8–1 in conference play). Their only defeat of the season was to Notre Dame on November 7, a double-overtime loss in a game played without starting Tigers quarterback Trevor Lawrence.[9] Clemson had a record of 6–1 in prior ACC Championship Games, having won each of the prior five games (2015–2019) and having only lost in 2009.
Notre Dame entered the championship game with a record of 10–0 (9–0 in conference play). Their narrowest margin of victory, outside of the double-overtime contest with Clemson, was a 12–7 win over Louisville in mid-October. Notre Dame historically competes in football as an independent, but played the 2020 season as a member of the ACC following a delayed start to the season and factors related to the COVID-19 pandemic. As such, this was Notre Dame's first appearance in an ACC Championship Game.
