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By BJ Bennett
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SouthernPigskin.com Senior Editor B.J. Bennett looks at the unpredictable nature of the ACC.

By B.J. Bennett
SouthernPigskin.com Senior Editor


SouthernPigskin.com Senior Editor B.J. Bennett looks at the unpredictable nature of the ACC.

 


They might as well put one of those bright orange work hats on top of the ACC logo.  This conference is a work in progress.  But progress, even on the national level, is occurring. 

The ACC is, for lack of a better word, crazy.  Don’t assume that distinction necessarily carries a negative connotation.  I’m not sure it does.  In the most recent AP poll, the ACC has three teams in the top 25.  That’s not a bad number.  That’s as many teams as the Big Ten, more than the Pac Ten and Big East.  Back to the AP poll.  Take a look at the top 25, but also the 14 teams included in the others receiving votes category.  The ACC has Georgia Tech, Florida State and Boston College represented there.  That gives the league six teams in the national top 39.  The SEC and Big XII, the obvious class of college football this season, also have six teams listed.  Every other conference has fewer.  In the USA Today poll, the ACC has eight teams listed in the national top 43 (the poll lists 45), the most of any conference in college football.

It’s safe to say the ACC has no great team, but the league has a whole lot of pretty good ones.  They say a conference is measured by its middle tier.  Considering the jockeying going on in the ACC, that stick better be a long one.   

How do you get a feel for the league?  One week after beating Florida State by forcing seven turnovers, Wake Forest lost to Navy by surrendering six turnovers.  After losing to UConn and Duke by a combined score of 76-13, Virginia shutout Maryland 31-0.  The week before being blanked by the then-winless-in-the-FBS Cavaliers, the Terrapins beat 20th ranked Clemson in Death Valley.  Virginia Tech won consecutive games over Georgia Tech and North Carolina in games where they mustered under 270 total yards and were outgained by both the Yellow Jackets and Tar Heels.  After scoring three points against Wake Forest, Florida State has scored 80 in back-to-back games against Colorado and Miami.  One week after scoring 31 in a victory over Virginia, Duke was held scoreless in a loss to Georgia Tech.  The consensus favorite in the pre-season, Clemson, is just 3-2 and is not among the teams listed in the polls above.  http://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/geot/sports/m-footbl/auto_action/2268418.jpeg

Some of the inconsistency can be attributed to the fact that six ACC teams, half of the conference, have first or second year head coaches.  Beyond that, seven ACC teams are currently starting freshmen or sophomore quarterbacks.  There is just one senior quarterback currently starting in the league.  In terms of playing freshmen, Florida State and Miami are among the youngest teams in all of college football. 

Perhaps the variance of the teams in the ACC is merely representative of the rest of college football.  Across the board, the game is flipped on its head.  Vanderbilt sits atop the SEC East; Tennessee is fledgling at the bottom.  Northwestern is one of two undefeated teams in the Big Ten.  Notre Dame is 4-1.  Of all of the national champions from the 1990s, only two (Alabama, Florida) are even ranked.  Needless to say, college football is in transition. 

While the ACC is a league in flux, it is also a league that is forming an identity.  You can see the improvement from programs like Duke, Georgia Tech and North Carolina and the young talent on teams like Florida State and Miami is overwhelming.  The consistency of teams like Boston College, Virginia Tech and Wake Forest is impressive.

The foundation is most definitely in place.  Two six-team divisions.  A conference championship game.  New coaches.  Upgraded facilities.  Improved recruiting and loads of young talent.  This is a league ready to grow.  A month and a half in to the fourth season of full expansion, the progression is notable.  Buckle down that hard hat, ACC.  Things are moving, and looking, up.


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BJ Bennett - Bennett developed the Southern Pigskin concept as a teenager. He has worked for over a decade in sports journalism, writing for major newspapers and hosting a radio show for The Fan Sports Radio 103.7, ESPN Radio Coastal Georgia. Bennett has been published in newspapers, magazines, journals and websites all across the southeast. Down Here, Bennett's original book on southern college football, is currently in the process of being published.