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
RAMBLE ON!!!
June 10th, 2009
2:04 pm
UGA is a Gynmastics School, but it’s still fun beating them in football.
What’s your point there SlimG?
RAMBLE ON!!!
June 10th, 2009
2:11 pm
whoops, Gymnastics
Achmed
June 10th, 2009
6:03 pm
I have lost my schedule for my PE class. Does anyone know the time of Waterboarding 102.
Raj Muhammed Habibi
June 10th, 2009
6:06 pm
Why don’t the Tech women wear the traditional hijab, It would stop them from scaring small children.
Raj Muhammed Habibi the 2nd
June 10th, 2009
10:57 pm
UGA will lose to OK State by 3 touchdowns
Dumbest poll question ever!
June 11th, 2009
1:51 am
Will GT’s offense take a step back in ‘09? That is seriously the dumbest poll question that I have ever heard. Who at the AJC comes up with these polls? And who in their right mind would think that GT’s offense would take a step back after a year under CPJ? Does that even seem logical??? Pathetic question…
Don't make excuses JimC
June 11th, 2009
1:59 am
Jim C: Seriously, you’re embarrassing yourself…I’m a Tech grad and not all of us have to “work” on weekends. If you think that watching what “a group of kids” do on a Saturday afternoon is a waste of time, then you’re obviously not a true Tech Fan. We don’t need fans like you supporting our program. Yeah, go and enjoy your “real life” working your weekends away…
SlimG
June 11th, 2009
9:25 am
Point is why hate on uga? Is it because you feel inferior? Just support your team and check your ego at the door or in this case login.
Tech had a decent season in ‘08, can’t take that away. Even though the standards are lower at tech and the competition in the ACC is weaker. You know and I know that uga will always be tech’s top goal while florida will always be uga’s top goal. Just get used to it. Been that way for years.
Scheduling weak opponents is a necessary evil in today’s game, but you can’t get all chest thumping about a matchup with Kansas. You know they are second tier at best. Try playing a ranked team other than uga once in a while and then we can talk apples and apples.
MyBigOldHairyButt
June 11th, 2009
9:53 am
But I have the biggest BALLS of them all, don’t you know.
RAMBLE ON!!!
June 11th, 2009
10:14 am
Oh gotcha SlimG… I forgot Auburn was a bottom feeder. Ole Miss/UCLA backing out, was us begging them too. Miss St.? (Of course we knew they were going to suck when we scheduled them, AND we are counting on Bama being on probation when we play them). Norte Dame…who knew.
Yes SlimG that is a forest behind all those trees.
RAMBLE ON!!!
June 11th, 2009
10:48 am
Sorry SlimG, to answer your question, all the hate on UGAg is due to the ignorance of the fleabag nation illustrated quite well in your last post.
Inferior? My math is getting a little fuzzy, but I’m still sure 45 is > than 42.
Dear SlimG
June 11th, 2009
11:12 am
Why hate on the Dawgs? I’d say from the constant Dawg fans obsessed with talking trash on the TECH BLOG it’s hard not to hate on them. Quit acting like the SEC was so powerful. They were tied head to head with the ACC in the regular season. Ole Miss beat the National Champs. Ole Miss also lost to Wake. We understand you see everything from red colored glasses but try and look at it from an outsiders perspective. You don’t really have much say in scheduling tough out of conference oponenets do you? With all the western kentucky’s and central michigans these past 10 years I was amazed when you guys actually set something up with OK State (by the way…horrible idea there as you will start the season 0 and 1). Ramble On…quit saying 45-42….it’s not that great of a score to be proud of…we won by 3 points.. Calm down…let’s win two and a row and then start talking some trash…
Hey "Dawg" Roberson
June 11th, 2009
11:14 am
Thanks for all the recent updates…How cool is it that you get paid to write a couple paragraphs every 4 or 5 days to call yourself a “beat writer”.
Honest question for you….Did you go to UGA games when you went to school there? Being a sports fan you must have. So did you root for the Dawgs?
Ramblinwreck1378
June 11th, 2009
11:42 am
Slim G: It’s very hypocritical of you to say that Tech has scheduled weak non-conference opponents in the past years. In 2004, your non-conference schedule (besides Georgia Tech) consisted of Georgia Southern and Marshall. In 2006, Western Kentucky, UAB, and Colorado. Excluding the past year, Georgia is perennially known to schedule and easy non-conference, and this year, we are one of 3 teams to have 3 non-conference games against FBS opponents. So I’d say our scheduling is just fine, with Alabama waiting in the wings in the upcoming years.
And the SEC is OVERRATED! There are 6 teams in the SEC that are “marginal” at best. In my opinion last season, and potentially this season, the ACC was/could be the most balanced conference in the nation. As someone stated earlier, the ACC tied the SEC in head to head matchups last season, with Georgia Tech being perfect against the beloved SEC. So don’t get so high and mighty now, read some articles, look at some statistics. You might be surprised.
Reality Check GT
June 11th, 2009
1:42 pm
Ramblinwreck… Please go back and look at the bowl records for each conference and the teams that each conference played. It is pretty one-sided.
ACC
Wake win over MIGHTY Navy!
UNC loss to WVU
FSU win over Wisconsin
Miami loss to Cal
NC State falls to powerhouse Rutgers
Maryland squeaks one out over Nevada, WOW
ACC #2 BC loses to Vandy. Powerhouse #2 team there
GT loss to LSU. We all know about that blowout!
Clemson loss to Nebraska
VT beat Cincy. WOW. Big win for the Hokies.
4-6 nice bowl season
SEC
Vandy wins
LSU wins
South Carolina loss in a game they never should have made
GA over Mich St
Ole Miss over TT
Kentucky over ECU, who beat VT
Bama loss to Utah
Florida beats Oklahoma to win it all
When you look at that and the sorry A** bowls you guys played in… Is there an argument against how pointless the ACC is?
OK Reality Check GT
June 11th, 2009
1:51 pm
You got us bud….
UGA is the greatest team in the country.
The SEC is god and should never be talked bad about again…
Tech Sucks…
Is that what you were looking for? Does that vidicate anything for yourself? Is that what you are on the GEORGIA TECH BLOG for or do you just like to argue? I mean, you probably want to win your arguements don’t you. You disagree with anything Pro tech or pro ACC so why should we even try to talk back to you about your beloved dawgs or your beloved sec when all we will end up being is WRONG?
Reality Check GT
June 11th, 2009
2:33 pm
UGA will win the National Championship this year while Tech is in the smurf turf bowl….haha!
Reality Check GT
June 11th, 2009
2:39 pm
We hear the same things on our blog! I just can’t sit around and listen to how good the ACC is. It is funny because you can’t argue that can you? All the talk about how the ACC is balanced is BS, look at the numbers.
Huh?/Reality Check GT
June 11th, 2009
4:04 pm
You actually hear things when you read a blog? The only things most dog fans lack are an education and any sense of reality. “UGA will win the National Championship this year .haha!” You make me laugh! Thanks! I needed that!
Duh?
June 11th, 2009
4:34 pm
dogs lost (state championship) to an ACC team….remember?
What is you point? Some of the SEC may be better than some in the ACC and…..some in the ACC are certainly better than some in the SEC!
Ramblinwreck1378
June 11th, 2009
4:44 pm
Reality Check: I was speaking in terms of the regular season. Duke beat Vandy, Clemson beat South Carolina, Wake beat Vandy and Ole Miss, and Georgia Tech beat Mississippi St. and someone else, I can’t really remember right now. But anyway, that puts the ACC in the regular season at 6-4 against the SEC in some pretty evenly matched games. And the ACC was VERY young last year, and will only get better. But there’s really no point in arguing with you. I know you’re on your computer every second at home looking up statistics. Obama talks about there being no jobs, but that’s not true. I’m a sophomore at Georgia Tech and I have a job. The problem is that there are dumb idiots like you who are too stupid/unqualified to get a job. Have a nice day you subservient loser.
Jeff Grady
June 11th, 2009
5:59 pm
If you think UNC will not escape mediocrity, why? Looks to me like they have a great school, football coach, and are recruiting top-notch players. I also believe kids love to go there if they can get in.
RAMBLE ON!!!
June 11th, 2009
6:39 pm
Jeff, UNC will be a force no doubt about it. They have all the tools…damn, I was hoping Bunting would never leave.
They will receive revenge from GT this year though.
Supersize that order, mutt
June 14th, 2009
1:42 pm
UGASlobber, the Tech – Bama series was cancelled BY Tech as a result of the assault by Bama’s Darwin Holt on Tech’s Chick Granning during the 1961 game in Birmingham, coupled with Dodd’s decision to leave the SEC. If anything was thrown at Bama players or fans during those final years of the rivalry, I sure didn’t see it, and I was there. There were such incidents at the Tech – Notre Dame games, however, and regardless of the ironic humor of throwing fish, it was still not something to be proud of, and the throwing of liquor bottles at Dan Divine was reprehensable. Nevertheless, and back to the point, it was Bama’s (and Bryant’s) behavior that led to Tech cancelling that series.
SlimG
June 17th, 2009
1:03 pm
1378, is that your locker combo? Why no mention of last year and this year? Doesn’t support you theory does it? Vandy and MissSt. would be considered off weeks over in Athens. At tech it’s a chance to prove they belong. Seems like uga’s schedule is stacked with real games against opponents fans can recognize. Maybe that’s why the admin. can charge a fee just to have the right to buy tickets and no need to advertise or hire an outside agency. Hope you like them spending your tech fund money on that bs.