Ranking all of the ACC games
Summertime, and the choosin’s easy.
Actually, it wasn’t.
Last week, Berry Tramel of the Oklahoman ranked the games in the Big 12 this season, from 1 on down.
So, since there’s nothing new under the sun, I thought it’d be fun to rank this year’s ACC games, from one on down.
The criteria was fairly simple: which games would be the most exciting, and have something important riding on them, for the division, the conference, the school’s psyche, the conference’s rep, etc.
You’ll notice the top 10, heck the top 20, are a bit top heavy with games featuring the ACC’s big five: Florida State, Georgia Tech, Miami, North Carolina and Virginia Tech.
It’s also no coincidence that three of those teams: Both Techs and the Heels, are expected to compete for the ACC championship this season.
Don’t give up reading after the first 20. The bottom 10 are also ranked. Couple of Duke games in there.
So, without further adieu, my pick for the game of the year in the ACC is:
Virginia Tech at Georgia Tech Saturday, October 17. It may be heresy to not put Georgia Tech vs. Georgia here, but this game will likely decide the Coastal Division rep in the championship game. I guess the question for Tech fans, beat the Tar Heels and have a chance to play for a conference title and a spot in a BCS game, or beat your rival? And, for this exercise, there aren’t any co-No. 1s.
The rest of the top 10:
Georgia at Georgia Tech Saturday, November 28. No explanation needed.
Alabama vs. Virginia Tech (Ga. Dome) Saturday, September 5. Is it fair to have the Hokies or Jackets dominate the top six? Who cares? These games are going to rock.
Nebraska at Virginia Tech Saturday, September 19. Huskers vs. Hokies. Always about alliteration.
Georgia Tech at Florida State Saturday, October 10. Division implications a plenty.
Florida State at Florida Saturday, November 28. The nation’s last hope for UF to get tripped up before the SEC title game.
North Carolina at Virginia Tech, ESPN Thursday, October 29. Coastal ramifications. Blacksburg will be rocking.
Georgia Tech at Miami, ESPN Thursday, September 17. See next comment.
North Carolina at Georgia Tech Saturday, September 26. Another in a brutal start for the Jackets.
Maryland at California Saturday, September 5. A barometer game for the ACC. If the Terps win, and the Hokies beat ‘Bama, the ACC suddenly looks really good.
The top 10 honorable mentions, or 11-20, however you prefer:
Florida State at BYU Saturday, September 19. Lots o’ points. Lots of em.
Miami at Virginia Tech Saturday, September 26
Florida State at North Carolina, ESPN Thursday, October 22
Miami at Florida State, ESPN Monday, September 7. Kind of sad this game is all the way down here, but…
Clemson at Georgia Tech, ESPN Thursday, September 10
Pittsburgh at NC State Saturday, September 26. Benchmark game for the ‘Pack.
Oklahoma at Miami Saturday, October 3. Why is this one so low? Cuz it’ll likely be a blowout.
Boston College at Notre Dame Saturday, October 24
TCU at Virginia Saturday, September 12. TCU is Top-25 worthy this year. Another benchmark game for the ACC. Let’s hope the Cavs do a bit better than last year’s butt-whipping by USC.
Clemson at South Carolina Saturday, November 28.
The rest, well the rest except for the 10 worst, which are at the bottom. I tried to put the top and the bottom of the list in order. The middle, well, I did my best:
TCU at Clemson Saturday, September 26
Miami at North Carolina Saturday, November 14
Florida State at Wake Forest Saturday, November 14. It’s no secret the Noles have lots of troubles with Wake.
South Carolina at NC State, ESPN Thursday, September 3
Baylor at Wake Forest Saturday, September 5
South Florida at Florida State Saturday, September 26
Clemson at Miami Saturday, October 24
East Carolina at North Carolina Saturday, September 19. Watch out Tar Heels. Trap game.
Florida State at Clemson Saturday, November 7
North Carolina at Connecticut Saturday, September 12
Miami at South Florida Saturday, November 28
Coastal Carolina at Clemson Saturday, October 31
North Carolina at NC State Saturday, November 28
Virginia Tech at East Carolina, ESPN Thursday, November 5
Stanford at Wake Forest Saturday, September 12
Boston College at Clemson Saturday, September 19
Wake Forest at Navy Saturday, October 24
Duke at Kansas Saturday, September 19
Wake Forest at Boston College Saturday, September 26
NC State at Boston College Saturday, October 17
Wake Forest at Georgia Tech Saturday, November 7
Wake Forest at Clemson Saturday, October 17
Rutgers at Maryland Saturday, September 26
Florida State at Boston College Saturday, October 3
Georgia Tech at Vanderbilt Saturday, October 31
NC State at Virginia Tech Saturday, November 21
Clemson at Maryland Saturday, October 3
Miami at Wake Forest Saturday, October 31
Georgia Tech at Mississippi State Saturday, October 3. If this were most any other SEC team, this game would have been in the top 20. Same goes for Vanderbilt matchup.
Virginia at North Carolina Saturday, October 3
Virginia Tech at Virginia Saturday, November 28
NC State at Wake Forest Saturday, October 3
Boston College at Virginia Tech Saturday, October 10
Maryland at Wake Forest Saturday, October 10
Virginia at Maryland Saturday, October 17
North Carolina at Boston College Saturday, November 21
Miami at Central Florida Saturday, October 17
Maryland at Duke Saturday, October 24
Georgia Tech at Virginia Saturday, October 24
Central Michigan at Boston College Saturday, October 31
NC State at Florida State Saturday, October 31
Virginia at Clemson Saturday, November 21
Maryland at Florida State Saturday, November 21
Duke at North Carolina Saturday, November 7
Maryland at NC State Saturday, November 7
Virginia at Miami Saturday, November 7
Boston College at Virginia Saturday, November 14
Clemson at NC State Saturday, November 14
Virginia Tech at Maryland Saturday, November 14
Duke at NC State Saturday, October 10
Boston College at Maryland Saturday, November 28
Wake Forest at Duke Saturday, November 28
Virginia Tech at Duke Saturday, October 3
Georgia Southern at North Carolina Saturday, October 10
James Madison at Maryland Saturday, September 12
Gardner-Webb at NC State Saturday, September 19
Georgia Tech at Duke Saturday, November 14
Virginia at Southern Miss Saturday, September 19
Elon at Wake Forest Saturday, September 19
Duke at Virginia Saturday, October 31
Richmond at Duke Saturday, September 5. This could be embarrassing for the Dookies.
Jacksonville State at Georgia Tech Saturday, September 5
Duke at Miami Saturday, November 21
The Citadel at North Carolina Saturday, September 5
William & Mary at Virginia Saturday, September 5
Jacksonville State at Florida State Saturday, September 12
The worst of the worst:
Duke at Army Saturday, September 12
Murray State at NC State Saturday, September 12
Middle Tennessee at Maryland Saturday, September 19
Northeastern at Boston College Saturday, September 5
Marshall at Virginia Tech Saturday, September 12
Florida A&M at Miami Saturday, October 10
Kent State at Boston College Saturday, September 12
Indiana at Virginia Saturday, October 10
Middle Tennessee at Clemson Saturday, September 5
And, the worst game in the ACC this year will be:
North Carolina Central at Duke Saturday, September 26. Central is an independent that is returning a whole bunch of starters. But really, scheduling North Carolina Central? Why?
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125 comments Add your comment
SlimG
June 8th, 2009
4:20 pm
Broken clock is right twice a day
ACC Football=SEC Basketball
June 8th, 2009
4:30 pm
Don’t pay attention to Huh? He knows not what he’s talking about. He’s the master of misinformation. BTW, didn’t we hear this pablum last year about UGA 2008 National Champions. Same crap, different year.
spider
June 8th, 2009
5:01 pm
gee just a couple of hours ago in the AJC i read that mark richt was crying about how touch his non conf sked is with ok st, arizona, & ga tech, sounds like there is confustion between mark richt and his fans..
spider
June 8th, 2009
5:02 pm
so who is right about ga tech, mark richt or HUH??
Bo Williams
June 8th, 2009
5:26 pm
SEC fans underestimate the interest in football by ACC fans. Just let UNC and NCState have good teams (and they are both going to build power houses because of heir coaches) and you will see them pack the stands. When both of these two squads are good, the rivalry and interest is every bit as high as between UGa and Fl and UGa and Tech. If you don’t believe it, go to one of their games. Until you do, you don’t have a vote, just a loud voice.
Jeff Grady
June 8th, 2009
5:34 pm
Does anyone out there not think that the passion that will be exuded over the NCState/SC game played on the first Thursday night of the football season will not rival that surrounding the other so-called big games, any of then! If you think not, then you don’t follow the game closely.
macrotech
June 8th, 2009
6:56 pm
Bo Williams, I agree with you COMPLETELY, with one exception…. more like a whimper than a loud voice. There is fear in those whimpers!
ShutUpMutt
June 8th, 2009
8:45 pm
Reality. Deal with it Huh?!
Georgia will lose at least 3 games this year and that will include Georgia Tech. No more Moreno, Masseqouioioiu, or Stafford.
Of course, you are out of your mind if you think UGA is getting anywhere near the NC. The last time (and only time) you got there, was with Hershel Walker.
ShutUpMutt
June 8th, 2009
8:49 pm
Hey mutts,
when your 5-star players can stop Tech from putting over 400 yards of rushing and 45 points on you…
You will have my permission to take that foot out of your mouth.
ShutUpMutt
June 8th, 2009
8:50 pm
And Huh? is probably a florida or tech fan making fun of a UGA fan. There’s no way Huh? is really that stupid.
GTbooster
June 8th, 2009
9:31 pm
Is it Huh or just Duh?
gtg991z
June 8th, 2009
10:45 pm
Georgia fans are so funny sometimes. They think they’re entitled to a shot at the NC every year when they consistently show they’re not ready for it. Furthermore, to say GT isn’t capable of a conference championship is just a public display of ignorance. It’s one thing to blindly support your team (even if you never went to the school like over half of the UGA fans) but to just make asinine comments on WreckBlogs is pathetic.
Months and months of smack talk about CPJ’s offense culminated in an addition to the “L” column in their own houses, yet the Bulldogs can’t face facts. I respect our in-state rivals, but the lack of class (on both sides occasionally) is a slap in the face to “Clean, Old-Fashioned Hate”.
RAMBLE ON!!!
June 9th, 2009
12:00 am
Doug, you should show some love to WF. I’m afraid if you don’t Jim Grobe will smack some folks in the face.
Playing them will not be an easy win, if it is one.
Alabama Jack
June 9th, 2009
6:48 am
In general, dawg fans suck. Have you notice thwg rhymes with thug, which you can’t have without UGA?
wes
June 9th, 2009
9:11 am
Tech has won 4 out of the last 5 games vs Georgia when CHAN GAILEY was not on the sidelines.
On that note, looking forward to another good game this year in Atlanta.
As for the ACC games, GEORGIA TECH @ VIRGINIA should be higher up on the list. Tech has not won there since they won it all in 1990. Can Paul Johnson end yet another streak for us Tech fans?
I think so…
wes
June 9th, 2009
9:15 am
Ramble On is correct about Wake vs GA TECH. Wake will have already faced the option attack when they visit Navy on October 24th.
Two weeks later, they come to BDS. Watch out for that game, Jackets!
DawginLex
June 9th, 2009
9:45 am
I’m gonna frame these predictions about Petrino being a better coach than Richt and the moving van to WM’s house. The one about GT/UGA 56-18 is really special.
Hey, Rambler, I just nominated you to be the sideline reporter/color guy for UGA broadcasts over on the other blog. Of course, I get the gig at Tech. Punch lines aplenty………………..
DawginLex
June 9th, 2009
9:48 am
Hey shutupmutt,
It’s Herschel, not Hershel. What do you call 13-1 in 2002 and finishing 3rd in the country? Only because of the national media love affair with OSU prevented UGA from playing for the title that year. That’s a little more recent than 1980 Einstein.
RAMBLE ON!!!
June 9th, 2009
10:11 am
Thanks DawginLex, I’ll decline though, the mutt Nation can’t handle the truth.
I’m a truth machine.
I wouldn’t get to carried away with the Petrino thing though. Just becasue Petrino is a Punk, doesn’t mean he can’t coach some college football. They were looking pretty good towards the end of the year. They could hand the mutts a L on the way to your 6-6 year.
G-Spot Boyz
June 9th, 2009
10:36 am
Open up and say ahhhhh dawginlex & huh. Be good boyz now.
GTsince62
June 9th, 2009
11:27 am
Huh? is smoking a joint laced with crack and PCP.
Huh?
June 9th, 2009
11:34 am
Dawgs beat Tech by 40 this year and go on to win the National Championship.
Mark it down NERDS!
DawginLex
June 9th, 2009
12:06 pm
Do you honestly think a Mark richt coached team is going to go 5-7 or 6-6?
I know ya’ll hate us but the guy averages 10+ wins a year. He is not Gomer Gailey or Loser O’Liary. He is also not Ray Goff.
Irish-Heel
June 9th, 2009
12:45 pm
Definitely the big game is UNC at Va. Tech. The bees will underachieve. Heels will roll at arguably the worst football stadium in Division-I. UGA has consistently underachieved. This year the Dogs will drop at least three games.
Oklahoma State, Arkansas and Florida.
The Tech game is a tossup. Chances are it will be just for pride
gtforever
June 9th, 2009
12:49 pm
I’m going to say it again… For all you HOMER GT fans out there that RUN your mouth…. UGA will be better in 2009. Count on it, there line of scrimmage on both sides will control almost everyone on their schedule. If the dawgs stay healthy, we will be lucky to beat them in Atlanta…. If our defense doesn’t show up we could very easily lose 4 to 5 games. If you must TRASH talk, please wait until we prove year in year out that we belong in the same league as UGA! We are NOT there yet, and if Coach doesn’t recruit better we may never get to their level….. Win of LOSE GO JACKETS!
Kyle
June 9th, 2009
12:57 pm
Huh? How can you say “we” when the only affiliation you have with UGA is the T-shirt you bought at K-mart?
BS Patrol
June 9th, 2009
12:58 pm
Don’t forget doggies, you had the 3 best QB’s ever to take a snap for you during that 10-win string. Whole new ballgame now. This year we’ll see what kind of coach Richt REALLY is!
BS Patrol
June 9th, 2009
1:03 pm
Actung!! gtforever is a butt sniffer! Sidewalk at that!
Got 12?
June 9th, 2009
1:16 pm
I am a Bama grad and fan. As an Atlanta resident, I also support Tech by attending a couple of games a year.
Does anyone know how or if the SEC’s new television contract will affect which stations broadcast ACC games? Or the kickoff times of ACC games?
RAMBLE ON!!!
June 9th, 2009
1:21 pm
BS Patrol doing another outstanding job. Keep up the good work.
He’s a butt sniffer.
gtforever
June 9th, 2009
3:16 pm
NO, I have just played the game, and can look at the situation realistically. You idiots that keep running your mouth make ALL the real fans look BAD!
gtforever
June 9th, 2009
3:19 pm
REAL GT fans….. BS and Ramble will probably need the concept of a REAL fan EXPLAINED…
RAMBLE ON!!!
June 9th, 2009
3:50 pm
REAL fans would never, ever say: “please wait until we prove year in year out that we belong in the same league as UGA!”
…sorry, maybe you’re a butt sniffer and don’t know it, but, you’re a butt sniffer.
BS Patrol
June 9th, 2009
3:50 pm
gtforever is the one who needs REAL fan explained to him. Go back to the butt sniffer blog.
gtforever
June 9th, 2009
4:08 pm
Funny, YOU guys are part of the reason we DON”T sell out our stadium…. It’s that feeling of SUPERIOR intelligence… YIKES! I defer to your obvious superior intellect………. and your SUPERIOR football knowledge….. GOOD GRIEF… I GIVE!
BS Patrol
June 9th, 2009
4:11 pm
My guess is gtforever rode the pine for the Willacoochie Middle School Grasscutters.
gtforever
June 9th, 2009
4:18 pm
Best damn middle school team in the country…… I was proud to ride that bench!
RAMBLE ON!!!
June 9th, 2009
4:26 pm
Yup, all my fault.
Maybe not a butt sniffer, but an Obama Apologist, indeed. Can you can go to Athens and apologize for us and covert some sidewalk mutts to help fill our stadium?
It sure is working with Iran and N. Korea.
…on second thought, never mind.
JimC
June 9th, 2009
7:58 pm
As much as I hope you’re right, I’m not sure that Tech will be strong enough to seriously compete for the ACC title this year. I think the offense will be very good, but defense is the big question mark. That and learning how to play 60 minutes every game.
JimC
June 9th, 2009
8:02 pm
And by the way, one reason that Tech doesn’t fill up the stadium like UGAy is that Tech alums have CAREERS, and they often WORK on the weekends. They also have real lives that don’t revolve around what a group of kids do on Saturday afternoons.
Think about that the next time a UGAy grad asks if you want fries with your burger!
Selah.
BS Patrol
June 9th, 2009
8:42 pm
I wish Tech were playing Bama in the Kick Off Classic. When Tech was in the SEC that rivalry was so rabid they had to quit scheduling it. Literally. VPI has no history W/Bama, does it? It would be great exposure.
UGASlobberknocker
June 10th, 2009
8:30 am
The problem with this ranking is that the ACC is awful. To rank the top 10 games in the ACC is like ranking the top 10 best looking women on the Tech campus..impossible since there arent 10 of either. The only games worth watching are those against SEC competition.
ACC = Always Crappy Conference
p.s. BS Patrol..the Alabama series against Tech was halted when Alabama players were assaulted and abused by thrown bottles, eggs etc by the Tech fans on every trip to Atlanta. The same thing happ with No Dame at Tech in the 1970s, with added insults shouted about their Catholicism. What a shock: Tech fans with no class
Too Easy
June 10th, 2009
8:34 am
JimC: I’ve heard all the excuses now, that gt can’t fill their stadium because its alums have to work on the weekends. Please. Even your brethren should pound you on this one.
Hey UGA Slobber
June 10th, 2009
9:24 am
If your conference is so great you must have beaten your rival in the ACC right?….wait…oh you didnt? wow!
If your conference is so great you should have had a better record head to head vs the ACC…wait…oh you didnt? wow!
If you can’t stand tech and the acc so much maybe you shouldn’t spend so much time reading and writing about tech in their blog….
ok douchebag?
Richy Rich
June 10th, 2009
9:45 am
Sugarhill, mutts, leghumpers, et. al.,
Tech wasn’t the conference champion last year, and may barely miss again.
But state champion was nice (45-42) and I look forward to another quiet year from Athens after Tech wups the fleabags again in 2009.
Nuf said.
GoodWord
June 10th, 2009
10:25 am
JimC, please go away with your sorry excuses about Tech folks working on the weekend. It’s pansies like you that make the true fans look bad. Don’t make excuses! Just bring friends with you and let’s fill the stadium.
I think VT has some pretty important games as far as how the ACC will be viewed on a national level. Everyone was jumping on the ACC’s back last year after Clemson got stomped. I will certainly be pulling for Beamer’s sqaud in the beginning of the season. NC State will help the cause also.
Sunshine
June 10th, 2009
12:01 pm
Kansas baby! I like adding some real opponents, instead of the weak SEC.
BS Patrol
June 10th, 2009
12:31 pm
Yeah that’s right Slobber, I said it was a spirited rivalry. I don’t think they like Tech much. Witness the Curry flap.
As far as ND is concerned, I would still throw fish at them if I had the chance. You probably like them because they rolled over for you in the 1980 NC game.
SlimG
June 10th, 2009
1:45 pm
Newsflash Sunshine, Kansas is a basketball school. Give there coach some credit, but they are not a national power by any stretch. If that’s a real opponent, the delusional theory is alive and well.
Too Easy
June 10th, 2009
1:58 pm
Looks like you’ll be needing to keep your free hot dogs, pizza and cokes to supply Mangino.