Ranking all 11 ACC bowl games, based on watchability

If you define "watchability" by stakes, the ACC's 11-game bowl slate has you covered. Clemson -- in the College Football Playoff for the fourth straight year -- is the No. 2 seed, the same place it held in winning the title two years ago.

If you define "watchability" by stars, the conference's slate has that covered, too. ACC games feature five of the top seven rushers in the country, two top-10 passers.

Oh, and there's also the finale for Paul Johnson, Georgia Tech's three-time ACC Coach of the Year.

So with your precious TV-watching time in mind, here's a ranking of the ACC's postseason games, by watchability.

Which Duke will see? Is it the one that rolled up 629 yards vs. North Carolina and 619 yards against Pitt? Or will it be the one that had a season-low 251 in scoring just seven points vs. Wake Forest in the regular-season finale?

This could be the last game of quarterback Daniel Jones' Duke career, and he has a chance to go off on an Owls team that allowed 409 yards per game in the last month of the season.

After a surprising 6-2 start, the Cavaliers stumbled down the stretch as they've been hit hard by injuries, including to the ankle of QB Bryce Perkins, who was hobbled for the last two games of the season. Those last two outings were losses to Georgia Tech and Virginia, which both came in overtime.

Perkins' health will be key as the Cavaliers look to build momentum going into 2019, but Bronco Mendenhall and Co. will have their hands full against a Gamecocks team that has only been beaten by Top 25 teams, falling to Georgia, Kentucky, Texas A&M, Florida and Clemson.

The Cavaliers played just one ranked team this season, beating then-No. 16 Miami on Oct. 13.

A letdown of a season ended on an upswing with the Hokies taking down rival Virginia in overtime before an added game against Marshall on championship weekend let them get to .500. But that late surge got Justin Fuente's crew a tough draw as they'll face a Cincinnati defense that's ranked eighth or higher in six different national categories, including seventh in scoring defense (16.1 ppg).

The Hokies have on the whole struggled offensively, ranking 63rd on the ground (170.2 ypg) and 39th through the air (256.8 ypg), but the last two games included 453 yards vs. Virginia and 454 against Marshall. Is that a sign of things to come?

The Demon Deacons have won their last two bowl games under Dave Clawson and making it three straight is going to mean doing something that hasn't always been easy for this defense: slowing someone down.

Granted, Wake Forest had its best effort of the season, holding Duke to seven points to get bowl eligible, but in their five losses, the Deacs have allowed no fewer than 34 points -- and three of those opponents were ranked lower than 66th in total offense.

Memphis' fourth-ranked attack will be, statistically, the most prolific Wake Forest has seen and has a major weapon in running back Darrell Henderson, who is 91 yards from a 2,000-yard season.

No Bryce Love, who is off getting ready for the draft, takes away the biggest name in this game. But the truth is, he had a down year (739 yards) and underscored just how middling this Cardinal offense was, ranking 71st at 395.4 ypg.

Stanford missing its best offensive player will only benefit a Pitt team that could use a lift as it had a Miami 2017-like stumble, being outscored 66-13 the past two games.

Look for Kenny Pickett, who has a 300-yard game on his resume this year, to feast on a Cardinal secondary that's 121st against the pass (274.7 ypg).

For the second straight year we get the Hurricanes and Badgers facing off in a bowl, and for the second straight year, the Hurricanes will try to bottle up the Badgers' Jonathan Taylor.

They couldn't do it last season, as he ran for 130 yards in Wisconsin's 34-24 win in the Orange Bowl, and Taylor enters as the Doak Walker Award winner and sits just 11 yards from 2,000 on the season.

This will be a workout for a Miami defense that was top-25 vs. the rush (127.5 ypg), but saw that figure jump to 152.3 ypg vs. Power 5 teams.

The final game of Paul Johnson's coaching career at Georgia Tech could have come on a more fitting stage, especially with the potential of landing in the Military Bowl in the stadium where he coached Navy for six years.

Instead, that finale is in Detroit opposite Minnesota, in what figures to be a chance for Johnson's option offense to pile up the yards vs. a Golden Gophers defense that is 81st vs. the rush (203.5 ypg) against Power 5 teams.

Another 300-yard game for Johnson, whose teams have 72, the second-most in the nation since he arrived at Georgia Tech in 2008? Seems about right.

AJ Dillon continues to be one of the most underrated talents in the country despite consecutive seasons of at least 1,100 yards and the Eagles sophomore will have a chance to breakout against a Top-25 opponent that has had trouble stopping the rush.

Boise State gave up 176 yards and three TDs on the ground in its loss to Oklahoma State back on Sept. 15, the Broncos' only game this season against a Power 5 squad.

This sets itself up to be one of the better QB matchups in the entire bowl slate.

The Wolfpack's Ryan Finley will be without the most electric player on the offense with Kelvin Harmon forgoing the game for draft prep, but the QB could be in for a big day vs. Texas A&M's 110th-ranked passing defense (262.7 ypg) behind Jakobi Meyers, who set a school-record 89 receptions.

Meanwhile, the Aggies' Kellen Mond and his 279.7 ypg of total offense (21st), has thrown 11 touchdown passes to one interception over his last three games, including six in the epic seven-overtime win over LSU.

This game was never going to supplant No. 1 on this, frankly because the winner doesn't go on to play for a national title, but it's hard to argue that this hasn't lost some of its drawing power.

Mountaineers QB Will Grier sitting this one out to get ready for the NFL Draft, and he's not alone, as his left tackle, Yodny Cajuste, is following suit.

Grier, tied for third in FBS with 37 TD passes and ranking fourth with 3,864 yards through the air, going toe-to-toe with Orange QB Eric Dungey would have been a blast.

This still has shootout written all over it, with Syracuse 73rd in points allowed (27.8 per) and West Virginia 74th in total defense (405.5 ypg), but it could have delivered both points aplenty and star power.

We've been treated to Clemson vs. Alabama in each of the past three playoffs -- two of which were for a national title -- and things are set up to give us another Dabo Swinney vs. Nick Saban clash. But first things first as the Tigers meet Notre Dame in the Cotton Bowl in a showdown of an established brand vs. one trying to recapture its past.

Plenty of focus will be on Clemson's Christian Wilkins-led defense and the opportunity for QB Trevor Lawrence to reach household name status, but don't sleep on Travis Etienne and the Tigers running game.

He's rattled off back-to-back 150-yard games for a unit that's 10th in rushing at 259.8 yards per game and the Fighting Irish have allowed only one player this season, Navy's Malcolm Perry, to hit the 100-yard mark on the ground.

What could come between the Tigers and Crimson Tide can present another epic chapter, but Clemson vs. Notre Dame won't be a bad appetizer.

Follow Cory McCartney on Twitter @coryjmccartney and Facebook. His books, 'Tales from the Atlanta Braves Dugout: A Collection of the Greatest Braves Stories Ever Told,' and 'The Heisman Trophy: The Story of an American Icon and Its Winners.' are now available.