By
Adam Wood
Could there be a more difficult time of year for a die hard college football fan. August may seem like an eternity away, and what makes this off-season seem even longer is the lingering stench of yet another less than impressive season from the ACC. Most ACC fans are eager for 2008, ready for the opportunity to start with a clean slate and see what kind of teams the conference can field. Much will be required from this year's squads if they are to begin recovering from the conference's bad national perception. The conference rightly deserves the bad press its been getting but fans of the conference are certainly hoping that there is light at the end of the tunnel.
One wonders however if the ACC will ever get the respect that many fans covet without Florida State or Miami carrying the banner? Both programs are clearly trying to inch their way back to greatness but not much is expected from either team this year. Could a quality Clemson, Wake Forest or Georgia Tech team garner the respect that an equally talented team in Miami or Florida State, probably not, but as time goes by fans and analyst get more comfortable with the idea of other teams becoming more dominant. What has been ironic since expansion is that the very team that nearly got left out of ACC expansion has "carried" the conference over the past few years. Virginia Tech has clearly been the banner team of the conference since expansion, but with its inability to win key OOC victories particularly their Bowl Games, Virginia Tech hasn’t exactly helped boost conference perceptions where its desperately needed. Until the conference starts winning its key bowl games its perception will remain in the gutter. However, don’t blame this all on Virginia Tech losing to a Kansas team they should have beaten, the ACC hasn’t won a BCS bowl game since Florida State defeated Virginia Tech for the National Championship.
On a side note: Have you ever considered what the conference would be like if the ACC had snubbed Virginia Tech and gone with Syracuse like many had wanted. Could you imagine what the media would be saying about the ACC then?
Having said all of this, the best days of football in the ACC are ahead, how could they not be? With the recent influx of coaching talent over the past few years the conference will drastically improve over the next 2-3 years. Butch Davis will transform North Carolina into something other than just a basketball school; David Cutcliffe will at least help make Duke more respectable than recent seasons; Tom O’Brien will find his grove at a school with a fan base that can take him much farther than at BC; Paul Johnson will at least add a new twist on offense in a conference that has lacked productivity; and Florida State and Miami will begin finding their ways once again.
All these things will certainly not happen in one season, but I do think the future is bright. For now the conference needs to focus on winning key OOC games during the season to boost the conferences reputation. Here are some important games to keep an eye on:
Thursday, August 28
NC State at South Carolina
Saturday, August 30
Alabama vs. Clemson (Atlanta)
USC at Virginia
Virginia Tech at East Carolina (Charlotte)
Saturday, September 6
Miami at Florida
Ole Miss at Wake Forest
Thursday, September 11
North Carolina at Rutgers
Saturday, September 13
California at Maryland
Virginia at Connecticut
Saturday, September 20
UCF at Boston College
Mississippi State at Georgia Tech
Miami at Texas A&M
East Carolina at NC State
Saturday, September 27
Colorado vs. Florida State (Jacksonville)
South Florida at NC State
Virginia Tech at Nebraska
Navy at Wake Forest
Saturday, October 4
Connecticut at North Carolina
Saturday, October 11
UCF at Miami
Notre Dame at North Carolina
East Carolina at Virginia
Saturday, November 8
Notre Dame at Boston College
Saturday, November 29
South Carolina at Clemson
Florida at Florida State
Georgia Tech at Georgia
Vanderbilt at Wake Forest
There are definitely quite a few winnable games that could boost the reputation of the ACC, but there are also some games that could get ugly (see: USC vs. UVA). North Carolina has a lot of important OOC games and they will surprise a lot of people this season. To put it simply, ACC teams really need to win a majority of these OOC games, while not losing games they should easily win. If this can be accomplished it will go along way toward helping things. Winning bowl games will be crucial for how the conference is remembered for 2008, but that’s a ways off to be worrying about. For now hopefully progress will be seen in the win column for OOC regular season games.
Over the next few weeks you will be provided with a breakdown of each team in the ACC as well as predictions on what you can expect from them this season. The Coastal Division is first up, check back soon for predictions.
Blog ... ACC: Earning Respect, July 1, 2008
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