Why the ACC might soon be the top Conference (long)

Dec 18, 2015, 9:11 AM

I'll start by saying I am not an ACC homer, however, I do see the impact that the conference can have on recruiting. This is significant because once the operations facility is built Clemson will be at or above the elite level in every category except conference affiliation.

There may be a shift coming.
LSU just fired their coach. Only problem was they were sock blocked by the fans. LSU still has Miles but they don't want him. He says he is going to change things on the offense but so far, nothing.
A&M is spiraling out of control. Unbelievable how things are over there. 3 QBs have transferred in the last year and one of their top WRs is also suspended from the bowl. Can they even score a TD when this has been one of Sumlin's worst offensive years ever.
Bama is still bama and the more they bama the more they suck the life out of their peers. They eat their own.
Ole Miss is the new Georgia- 5 stars on 5 stars and only 9-10 wins to show for it.
Auburn is still trying to figure out how to make their 5 star defense any good while also searching for a QB in an offense that can't function without a good one.
Miss. State probably faces a huge setback with Prescott's departure.

Georgia is breaking in a rookie but should be alright.
Florida could be good but will start to face attrition on defense.
Tennessee and Arkansas will be hailed as a preseason favorite and will fold again.
The rest of the conference is garbage in Kentucky, Vandy, Mizzou, South Carolina

On the other hand.
Clemson is the #1 team in the country.
FSU brings back a ton and is top 10.
Louisville is headed back to 10 win territory after they bring back some good players and finding a few more in prison.
BC will be ok next year once they get their QB back. Defense will take a hit.
NC State will probably still be mediocre.
Wake and Syracuse are garbage but should improve to just trash next year.

UNC managed to finally find some success and are doing a good job of reloading. This is probably the equivalent to Clemson in '11.
Miami made a home run hire in Richt. They got a coach that averages 10 wins a season, runs the same offense, can recruit, and is an alum. Oh and Miami is the most fertile recruiting territory in the country. That isn't hyperbole.
VT also made a home run hire while replacing their legend coach who wasn't quite able to maintain the years of success in his twilight. Still made a bowl and Fuente will have that program churning.
UVA did well on the coach search trail as well, hiring a proven winner in Mendenhall.
Pitt will steadily improve under Narduzzi and also has one of the best backs in the country. Hopefully he makes a full recovery from his cancer. Prayers sent for him.
Duke seems to have hit the point where we can expect consistent winning seasons under Cutcliffe. If they can replace some key pieces, I don't expect them to go anywhere.
GT probably bounces back and makes a bowl but after 3-9 you have to wonder how safe Johnson is.

All that to say the tide hasn't turned but the college football landscape is certainly shifting and the ACC has positioned itself well. Clemson, FSU and UNC will be the top dogs again next year but it shouldn't take more than a year or two for VT and Miami to be dangerous again. Louisville, Pitt, NC State, and Duke will also form a good backbone of solid mid-tier teams. This is good for Clemson and while I will never chant ACC! I will say that in a few years time even the most hard-headed individuals will recognize that the ACC is not a bottom-feeder. It will be hard to say that this year after Clemson wins it all. At that point the ACC would have won the title 2 out of 3 years and will have had 2 different ACC teams beat the other Champion (Ohio State) leading up to their title.

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is finished. It's pretty clear that money became an issue to the conference commissioners. The final straw was the LSU/Bama championship where the SEC took all the top dollars. The SEC had ruled the BCS due to the Sagarin computer rankings which were favored because of the ESPiN-SEC relationship.

Every school boy in America interested in sports during those years was pounded with the SEC hype. The SEC benefited greatly from that decade and a half of ESPiN-SEC propaganda. It changed the culture of southeastern football by infiltrating the thoughts and beliefs of everyone.

Right now if the BCS had have continued Bama probably would be ranked #1 and be facing the #2 ranked OU team in the BCS national championship.

ESPiN is losing control but it's obvious, they aren't going down without a fight.

Why the ACC might soon be the top Conference (long)

Hopefully, our conference brothers at UNC

The delusion that ESPiN created during the BCS years...

How True ... so true

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