First off, this is intended to be a serious topic so it would be great if this didn’t degenerate into a Sem/Clem v SoPines photoshop flame-war. I’m assuming FSU and Clemson are going nowhere and we all need to make the best of it.
1. I think the best way for the ACC to improve its standing in CFB is to just win the games. With the new TV contract having 5 year look-ins it does give the conference a chance to renegotiate if they can produce a BCS winner and maybe a Nat. Champ. in the next 2 years and 3 playoff years. As much as I kid FSU fans I know about their trophy case full of pre-season Natty Champ. awards, I think they’re really putting together the type of team and depth it takes to win big and sustain it. I’m biased but I think Clemson will be a title contender in ‘13.
2. The 9 game conference schedule is a terrible idea. If SOS is going to be a factor in deciding playoff teams, teams like Clemson can’t afford to trade a home-and-home with Ok St for Syracuse. 8 games is plenty. I would actually prefer a 7 game conference schedule. 6 games in your division (new ACC) and your cross-division rival. That gives the schedule more balance, you get a truer champion in each division and limits the chances for a title game rematch (which I hate). Also, that leaves 5 games for teams to schedule as tough as they want, which would add value to future contracts. Not sure what the rules are on this.
3. All teams in the ACC, especially the basketball schools, need to realize that football is what drives revenue and they need to invest in their football programs like other conferences do. Duke has some nice facilities but that stadium is a joke. BC’s isn’t much better. At least Wake is trying. None of those schools is hurting for money. If there was a way to require schools to invest a portion of the new TV money in football upgrades that would be a slow process but still progress.
Slappy: Excellent post. Well stated and I agree with your take. Refreshing that this post was not filled with photoshop material!
For the record, I believe that the ACC is on the right path to getting stronger and like you said, winning will do the trick. If ACC teams start winning, SOS will become less of an issue in conference play.
I hear you on SOS but the 9 game schedule is for tv revenue purposes. Notice that the Pac 12 is already there and the big 10 is now trying to go to it? More inventory to sell.
Alot of schools like it too because they hate having to pay the guarantee games which are now starting to get in the 7 figures. See Saban wanting the SEC to do it earlier this year.
The big 5 will all be at 9 games in the next few years. Win the games and SOS will not be a factor.
FSU doesn’t need pre season trophies. The case is full of real trophies, 12 ACC titles, 2 national championships and assorted other trophies. There will be more coming this year.
During a fourteen year span from 1987 to 2000 the Florida State Seminoles won two National Championships in college football. They were named a Dynasty by the NCAA and posted an AP Top 5 finish every year for 14 straight years and five in the top 3. This is an NCAA record.
As of 2007 FSU was 152-18-1 during this span. The closest any school came to this record was 7 years in a row. This is a record that will most likely never be broken. Through 2009 FSU is the third most winning football program in America ahead of UF.
14 straight bowl trips without a loss and is an NCAA record. 25 straight bowl appearances. 28 bowls in 31 years. Bowden: National Coach of the Year - 1979, 1980, 1991, 1996, & 1999. Bowden has won more games since 1990 than any other program, not coaches programs.
From 1993 to 2001 the Seminoles played in five national championships claiming two. They were the most successful college team in the 90’s posting an 89 per cent winning percentage.
FSU was the first team in collegiate history to go wire to wire undefeated and claim the national championship. It holds the record of eleven bowl victories in a row against top ten competition, a record that has never ever been equalled, ever and will most likely never be broken.
Since entering the ACC in 1990 at the time of this writing (Does not take into consideration last two 7-6 seasons) FSU is 114-15 against ACC opponents. In addition to this while winning the ACC it also co-shared 4 SEC championships with Steve Spurrier by virtue of inflicting a season ending loss to the SEC champion Florida Gators!
FSU has 12 conference championships and produced 2 Heisman winners including Charlie Ward whom Steve Spurrier called the most dangerous quarterback he had ever faced. Charlie Ward is the most decorated player in collegiate history and the winner of the Walter Camp Award, Sporting News collegiate player of the year award, Sullivan Award and a member of the College Football hall of fame and was inducted into it along with Bobby Bowden the most winning coach in collegiate football history up until recently upended by Joe Paterno. (stay tuned here)
Charlie Ward set seven single season Florida State records and seven FSU career records.
Over the last twenty years FSU is still one of the most winning program in college football second to Michigan. Let the record show Bobby Bowden has lost 9 bowl games in 31 years and has the 3rd highest winning percentage over the last 25 years and 6th best since 1970. Currently Jimbo Fisher is undefeated winning his first two bowl matchups after resurrecting the program from the failures of the last coaching regime.
And the best way for the ACC to improve it’s standing is get rid of Swofford and find someone who is capable of garnering contracts that are not chicken feed. Although I don’t think this is going to be a problem FSU need worry about for much longer.
FSU doesn’t need pre season trophies. The case is full of real trophies, 12 ACC titles, 2 national championships and assorted other trophies. There will be more coming this year.
During a fourteen year span from 1987 to 2000 the Florida State Seminoles won two National Championships in college football. They were named a Dynasty by the NCAA and posted an AP Top 5 finish every year for 14 straight years and five in the top 3. This is an NCAA record.
As of 2007 FSU was 152-18-1 during this span. The closest any school came to this record was 7 years in a row. This is a record that will most likely never be broken. Through 2009 FSU is the third most winning football program in America ahead of UF.
14 straight bowl trips without a loss and is an NCAA record. 25 straight bowl appearances. 28 bowls in 31 years. Bowden: National Coach of the Year - 1979, 1980, 1991, 1996, & 1999. Bowden has won more games since 1990 than any other program, not coaches programs.
From 1993 to 2001 the Seminoles played in five national championships claiming two. They were the most successful college team in the 90’s posting an 89 per cent winning percentage.
FSU was the first team in collegiate history to go wire to wire undefeated and claim the national championship. It holds the record of eleven bowl victories in a row against top ten competition, a record that has never ever been equalled, ever and will most likely never be broken.
Since entering the ACC in 1990 at the time of this writing (Does not take into consideration last two 7-6 seasons) FSU is 114-15 against ACC opponents. In addition to this while winning the ACC it also co-shared 4 SEC championships with Steve Spurrier by virtue of inflicting a season ending loss to the SEC champion Florida Gators!
FSU has 12 conference championships and produced 2 Heisman winners including Charlie Ward whom Steve Spurrier called the most dangerous quarterback he had ever faced. Charlie Ward is the most decorated player in collegiate history and the winner of the Walter Camp Award, Sporting News collegiate player of the year award, Sullivan Award and a member of the College Football hall of fame and was inducted into it along with Bobby Bowden the most winning coach in collegiate football history up until recently upended by Joe Paterno. (stay tuned here)
Charlie Ward set seven single season Florida State records and seven FSU career records.
Over the last twenty years FSU is still one of the most winning program in college football second to Michigan. Let the record show Bobby Bowden has lost 9 bowl games in 31 years and has the 3rd highest winning percentage over the last 25 years and 6th best since 1970. Currently Jimbo Fisher is undefeated winning his first two bowl matchups after resurrecting the program from the failures of the last coaching regime.
I think the 9 game rotation is flat stupid. The SEC was wise to keep an 8 game schedule for a few good reasons:
1. More Flexibility in Non-Conference money making games….
2. A 2-win In conference record can still send a school to a bowl. 6 wins is the threshold. The SEC will naturally have move schools playing in the post season than the ACC because the 9 game format will take someone out.
I hear you on SOS but the 9 game schedule is for tv revenue purposes. Notice that the Pac 12 is already there and the big 10 is now trying to go to it? More inventory to sell.
Alot of schools like it too because they hate having to pay the guarantee games which are now starting to get in the 7 figures. See Saban wanting the SEC to do it earlier this year.
The big 5 will all be at 9 games in the next few years. Win the games and SOS will not be a factor.
Which game has more value for the networks, Clem vs Ok St or Clem vs Pitt?, FSU vs OU or FSU vs Duke?, Miami vs ND or Miami vs Wake? Schools hate having to pay the guarantee games, but they like the extra home game and they like the Ws. If they were getting more from the TV contract because of better, more marketable OOC matchups that would make it easier to swallow.
Those games are here to stay. The 9 game schedule forces teams to either drop home-and-home, tougher OOC games, or drop the extra home game (and supposed win) vs a lesser (FCS) school, which is almost never done. If you’re an SEC or Big XII school the extra conference game adds to SOS in most cases. They don’t need the help that teams in the 5th wheel conference(ACC) do. They can afford to have only 1 decent OOC (in some cases not even that) team on the schedule.
Not only have SEC teams not dropped the guarantee games, they are scheduling them so that they get in effect a bye week before important conf and OOC games (see USCe playing Wofford the week before Clemson, or UGA playing GA Southern before GT or Aub playing Ala A&M before Bama or Bama playing W. Carolina before Auburn)
FSU doesn’t need pre season trophies. The case is full of real trophies, 12 ACC titles, 2 national championships and assorted other trophies. There will be more coming this year.
During a fourteen year span from 1987 to 2000 the Florida State Seminoles won two National Championships in college football. They were named a Dynasty by the NCAA and posted an AP Top 5 finish every year for 14 straight years and five in the top 3. This is an NCAA record.
As of 2007 FSU was 152-18-1 during this span. The closest any school came to this record was 7 years in a row. This is a record that will most likely never be broken. Through 2009 FSU is the third most winning football program in America ahead of UF.
14 straight bowl trips without a loss and is an NCAA record. 25 straight bowl appearances. 28 bowls in 31 years. Bowden: National Coach of the Year - 1979, 1980, 1991, 1996, & 1999. Bowden has won more games since 1990 than any other program, not coaches programs.
From 1993 to 2001 the Seminoles played in five national championships claiming two. They were the most successful college team in the 90’s posting an 89 per cent winning percentage.
FSU was the first team in collegiate history to go wire to wire undefeated and claim the national championship. It holds the record of eleven bowl victories in a row against top ten competition, a record that has never ever been equalled, ever and will most likely never be broken.
Since entering the ACC in 1990 at the time of this writing (Does not take into consideration last two 7-6 seasons) FSU is 114-15 against ACC opponents. In addition to this while winning the ACC it also co-shared 4 SEC championships with Steve Spurrier by virtue of inflicting a season ending loss to the SEC champion Florida Gators!
FSU has 12 conference championships and produced 2 Heisman winners including Charlie Ward whom Steve Spurrier called the most dangerous quarterback he had ever faced. Charlie Ward is the most decorated player in collegiate history and the winner of the Walter Camp Award, Sporting News collegiate player of the year award, Sullivan Award and a member of the College Football hall of fame and was inducted into it along with Bobby Bowden the most winning coach in collegiate football history up until recently upended by Joe Paterno. (stay tuned here)
Charlie Ward set seven single season Florida State records and seven FSU career records.
Over the last twenty years FSU is still one of the most winning program in college football second to Michigan. Let the record show Bobby Bowden has lost 9 bowl games in 31 years and has the 3rd highest winning percentage over the last 25 years and 6th best since 1970. Currently Jimbo Fisher is undefeated winning his first two bowl matchups after resurrecting the program from the failures of the last coaching regime.
Congrats, have a cookie. Your little fingers must be tired from all that cutting and pasting.
FSU doesn’t need the pre-season trophies, but they got them anyway.
During a fourteen year span from 1987 to 2000 the Florida State Seminoles won two National Championships in college football. They were named a Dynasty by the NCAA and posted an AP Top 5 finish every year for 14 straight years and five in the top 3. This is an NCAA record
This is precisely my point. Don’t get me wrong. If this were Clemson’s history I’d be ecstatic and maybe as hubristic as you, Sem. FSU had a 14 year run of dominance the likes of which we may never see again and only 2 titles to show for it. Is anyone suggesting in those other 12 years there wasn’t a cadre of sportswriters pencilling FSU in the top spot? Nicky Satan and Bama have 2 in 5 years. How many will he have 9 years from now? My guess is more than 2.
It’s amazing, I take a little jab at the mighty Seminoles immediately followed by high praise for the current staff and players and you guys just can’t take it.
And the best way for the ACC to improve it’s standing is get rid of Swofford and find someone who is capable of garnering contracts that are not chicken feed. Although I don’t think this is going to be a problem FSU need worry about for much longer.
It’s amazing, I take a little jab at the mighty Seminoles immediately followed by high praise for the current staff and players and you guys just can’t take it.
Slappy, wait until the regular season. They are pretty tame right now. The first time an FSU player gets a turf-toe the excuse factory will be open for business with ACC having a personal vendetta against FSU being among the most popular reason FSU keeps laying eggs
It’s amazing, I take a little jab at the mighty Seminoles immediately followed by high praise for the current staff and players and you guys just can’t take it.
Slappy, wait until the regular season. They are pretty tame right now. The first time an FSU player gets a turf-toe the excuse factory will be open for business with ACC having a personal vendetta against FSU being among the most popular reason FSU keeps laying eggs
And what will be Clemson’s excuse? Young team, again? I see Swinney is already setting that excuse up:
“We’re going to have 61 freshmen and sophomores on this team. 80% of our roster will be freshmen an sophomores and that’s exciting to me” ~ Dabo Swinney
It’s amazing, I take a little jab at the mighty Seminoles immediately followed by high praise for the current staff and players and you guys just can’t take it.
Slappy, wait until the regular season. They are pretty tame right now. The first time an FSU player gets a turf-toe the excuse factory will be open for business with ACC having a personal vendetta against FSU being among the most popular reason FSU keeps laying eggs
And what will be Clemson’s excuse? Young team, again? I see Swinney is already setting that excuse up:
“We’re going to have 61 freshmen and sophomores on this team. 80% of our roster will be freshmen an sophomores and that’s exciting to me” ~ Dabo Swinney
I have no problem with bringing up injuries or team youth as factors in success or failure. They do have an effect and it’s part of the game. If the backup was better than the starter he wouldn’t be the backup. I do have a problem with people saying ‘if we had player X, we would have won the game’. ‘I think we could have won that game’ is ok.
It is what separates the good from the great. The old FSU would just keep rolling them out there. I think the starters for FSU could beat any team in the country, but there are always injuries. When you’re deep enough that it doesn’t matter or lucky enough not to have key injuries you can win all the games.
