2009.01.02
BCS win is nice, but ACC still climbing uphill
Like most of my football predictions I was wrong when I said the ACC would go 5-5 in bowl season. They did even worse at 4-6. Wins over Navy, Nevada, Wisconsin and Cincinnati aren't big resume builders. Virginia Tech helped the league with a BCS win, but it pales against West Virginia's wins over Georgia and Oklahoma the past two years. The final numbers against other BCS leagues are 13-8 in the regular season and 2-6 in the bowls. Virginia Tech will be the heavy preseason favorite next year, which is good for the league. But until Florida State and Miami become major players again and another team steps forward (maybe North Carolina), the ACC's image will be what it is. -- Jeff Gilbert
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Agreed. For the most part. However you must also consider the fact that the ACC is the only conference in history to send 10 teams to bowls, which the ACC did this year.
Tech does need another strong contender (or 2 or 3) in the conference to justify the conference, but while the last couple of seasons have been down, I felt as if, over the course of the season, the ACC did have better showings.
Every conference has down times, the ACC is coming back, the 'powerhouses' in conference like Tech are very young. Next year or two, will tell the tale.
Comment by Paul — January 2, 2009 @ 3:11 pm
The Hokie's game against the Crimson Tide at the beginning of next season is a great opportunity for the ACC to make a statement.
Comment by Don — January 2, 2009 @ 5:19 pm
For once Tech has a decent out of conference schedule next year opening up againt Bama, Marshall, Nebraska, and ECU. We will lose only a few players to graduation this year. If by some miracle we're 4-0 to when we start conference play it will elevate the entire conference.
Comment by Dave — January 2, 2009 @ 8:18 pm
I wish we had been playing Alabama this year instead of Cinncinnat
Comment by Boyd Walker — January 3, 2009 @ 12:50 pm
So, the Hokies failed to beat Georgia or Oklahome because they were scheduled to play Cincinnati. Brilliant! UC was the champion of the Big East. Would it have been more impressive to have beaten WVU?
According to you this is all just a beauty contest based on brand and name recognition. Obviously a playoff is not the answer. Afterall, should a team like Virginia Tech defeat, say, Utah in a National Championship game, it would be meaningless as Utah is an unknown program from a non BCS conference. To be meaningful, the Hokies would be required to beat a team like Alabama in a championship game?
Comment by Merritt — January 3, 2009 @ 5:52 pm
It is true that the ACC finished the bowl season at 4-6; however, they did outscore their opponents in total points. The bowl picture only had one blowout by the ACC opponents.
And Appalachian State University will beat ECU in the season opener next year if their (ASU) quarterback comes back.
And Jeff, I waxed you in the Fearless Forecasters this year.
Carroll
Comment by Carroll — January 3, 2009 @ 6:47 pm
Keep on bad mouthing the ACC - UNC out gained and out played WVA - Turn over was the key - Yes it was a loss but watch out for UNC next year ----
Miami out played Cal after a very bad 1st QTR - again a fumble inside the 10 with only several minutes to go - Yes a loss but it could have gone either way - Miami is very young so look out!
So BC finally lost a Bowl Game so does that mean less for the ACC -
Utah beat the stuffing out of the SEC second best so what!
USC beat once beaten Peen State now Corso thinks USC is the best team in America!
Comment by Bob — January 3, 2009 @ 9:46 pm
True they were 4-6 but Carolina fumbled away a W, Clemson gagged and maybe got a bad call on the fumble return for winning TD, NC State was up 10 until their QB got hurt. They could have just as easily been 7-3. Not one league team gagged it like Alabama.
Comment by Tom L — January 4, 2009 @ 12:20 am
(IMHO) The ACC is not, never has been and never will be a big time
football conference. Before Tech, BC and Miami left the Big East,
it was a legitimate football league. The ACC is a basketball conference
with good baseball and Olympic sports. Football is just something they
do in the fall. John Swofford knew the league's football impact was
failing when he started his raid on the Big East.
Think about it: A new team comes into the league and wins the
championship three out of the first four years? That's a tough conference
for sure!
Comment by James Salenger — January 4, 2009 @ 10:28 am
Dave, for once Tech had a decent non conference schedule? In the last 5 years, we've scheduled.... USC, LSU, Nebraska and been turned down repeatedly by names such as WVU, Tennesse and Michigan. Future non conference games include Wisconsin and Ohio St. The Hokies repeatly have one of the top non conference schedules in the league. Just because teams refuse to play us, doesn't mean we don't try to schedule great games for the program. Please know the facts, thank you.
Comment by Brian — January 4, 2009 @ 11:15 am
The ACC was the best football conference in the country in the regular season!
Well, according to Jeff Sagarin it is.
He picks the ACC as the top conference. How is this possible? Well, for one thing, the Southeastern Conference has 5 teams ranked worse than the worst team in the ACC.
1 ATLANTIC COAST 79.01
2 BIG 12 78.36
3 SOUTHEASTERN 75.19
4 BIG EAST 74.91
5 BIG TEN 74.75
6 PAC-10 73.02
The worst-ranked team in the ACC is Duke, ranked number 53 out of 246 Division 1-A and 1-AA teams. But the SEC has teams ranked 67, 69, 75, 78, and 103 among the 245 teams.
Remember, 3 SEC teams fired their coaches at the end of the year. No ACC coach was fired at the end of the year.
The same situation is true for the Big 12.
And of the 245 teams, UVa played the #1 toughest schedule!
Duke, N.C. State, and Wake Forest played the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th-toughest schedules, not just in the ACC, but out of the 246 teams.
Comment by Nelson — January 4, 2009 @ 12:03 pm
I beleive the ACC will be very strong in 2009.. Tech, GT, Miami, BBC and NC ALL were very young teams this year.. Clemson and NC will be very strong this year.. Butch Davis is one helluva recruiter and coach..And don't discount FL ST.. Old Bobby is on his way back...@009 should be very interesting!!
Comment by Jim — January 4, 2009 @ 1:02 pm
I think it's highly ironic that the ACC tried its darnest to keep VT out of its conference, taking other teams such as Miami and BC instead. Yet it's been VT who has pretty much dominated the ACC (in football, at least) since they had to sue to get in.
Interesting, isn't it?
Granted, VT, and the ACC in its entirety, still has rebuilding to do, but for all intents and purposes, it looks like VT will be the one leading the way.
Comment by JKD — January 4, 2009 @ 7:48 pm
This is a ridiculous article. Every conference has room for improvement. Every conference has good and bad teams. No conference should brag about how it is better than other conferences. What should be done is that each and every team should work on its own program to make it the best that it can be. That is the real task of each team, take care of its own business. This talk of conference strength and weakness is a never ending debate that should never be brought up for discussion in the first place, all that amounts to is each person or each conference has a different opinion on the matter. Each team work on its own improvement and let the rest take care of itself.
Comment by Frank — January 5, 2009 @ 7:13 am
I think the thing that hurt the ACC perception-wise this year was that no one team really stood out as being an elite team. And the other problem is that usually, the elite team gets their rears handed to them in the BCS bowl games. With VT returning so many good players next year and other teams continuing to improve, I look for next year to be a breakout year for the ACC to help change the perception that it's a soft conference. I don't think it is, but perception is reality most of the time.
Comment by Other John — January 5, 2009 @ 8:13 am
He picks the ACC as the top conference. How is this possible? Well, for one thing, the Southeastern Conference has 5 teams ranked worse than the worst team in the ACC
Lets see what happens when VT and Alabama square up in September.
Comment by James Salenger — January 5, 2009 @ 10:04 am
John is right, perception is reality most of the time. The ACC is thought of as a basketball conference, and for good reason, that is the main history of the conference. Things can and do change. With all of the teams to be better next year it should help with how the conference is recognized. Go Hokies!!!
Comment by Frank — January 5, 2009 @ 10:37 am
The bowl results by conference is a totally misleading stat. The teams weren't selected and matched by quality but by convenience and money draw - SEC #2 vs ACC #4; BgEast #2 vs ACC #5. Only in the Orange Bowl and Rose Bowl did conference champs collide - and one of those was a blowout. The BCS Bowl is THE only bowl that matters for the national champ and only those teams can show what they can do. Conference affiliation means nothing on that stage. Frank is right - just take care of yourself and all else will generally fall into place. For VT next year, they started working on next year two years ago. The players are in place or soon will be in place to make the run. The question is, will the offense have the character and will to follow through? Will the coaches exploit the talents of the young men in their charge? We know the defensive coaches always have their side ready. If the offense can match the output and effort of the defense, then VT will have several national championships before long.
Comment by steve — January 5, 2009 @ 10:43 am
In the past, the ACC has historically been perceived as a weak conference - especially prior to "the raid." Florida State's record in the ACC prior to the expansion was a huge indicator of this; how many years did they run the table? Remember the year UVA beat FSU at home (1995 I think), and how big a deal that was?
Other John hit it on the head - it's not that the ACC is a weak conference, but that the perception exists that it is. It begs the question, which is better: a conference that can present several teams capable of making big plays and scoring lots of points, or a conference with parity, where a number of teams are equally dominant?
No Big 12 team has scored more than 34 points in a game this postseason; comparitively, TTU, UT, OU failed to score less than 35 points a combined total of three times all season - and two of those were in the Red River Shootout. Sure, they can throw the ball, but where's the defense? What makes them a strong conference compared to the ACC? Let me remind you that the bottom five teams in the Big XII were a combined 20-40; by comparison, the bottom five teams in the ACC 29-34.
Comment by DanGo — January 6, 2009 @ 12:52 pm
Until FSU and Miami get elite, the ACC will continue to be average at best in College Football. Sagarin rating is a joke so anyone using that should be laughed at. VT got a cupcake in Cincy for a BCS bowl and ACC will continue to get the lowest rated BCS opponent just like Kansas last year. The reason so many ACC teams qualified for bowls is that they are playing each other and easy out of conference teams. Also, look no further than your empty ACC champ game the last couple years which shows lack of passion by ACC fans and please don't tell me about the game being in Tampa(God forbid fun and sun)
Comment by jeff H — January 8, 2009 @ 10:09 pm
Give it a few more years and the ACC will stand toe-to-toe with any other conference.
yeah, yeah, yeah, it's traditionally a basketball conference. It's also a conference with two programs, FSU and Miami, who have 7 national titles between them since 1983, and they also happen to be located in talent-rich Florida. Does anyone think it's not just a matter of time before they're elite once again? Va. Tech has finished in the Top Ten almost every year for ten years. UNC is a rapidly improving program in a state producing more and more elite high school football talent every year. Wake Forest, Georgia Tech, BC, and Clemson are solid, improving programs.
You stack the ACC up against the Big 12, the Big Ten (where the number of great high school prospects is rapidly shrinking), the Big East (where it's an endless uphill battle to draw talent), and the Pac 10, and it's simply a matter of time before the ACC is truly great. Within 3 or 4 years, look out for the ACC to have 2 teams in BCS bowls and roar back with a group of strong new coaches.
Also, with the game in Charlotte, attendance will helped tremendously.
Comment by Michael — May 5, 2009 @ 12:57 pm