If ACC wants to get noticed, it needs to step up against SEC
National publications take notice of major conference collisions. This one followed Alabama's win over Clemson.
It’s the start of college football season. Is this when the SEC big foots everybody again? Is this when the ACC screams from the Chapel Hill-tops that the conference went 6-4 against Cyclops in the regular season last year, yet continues to get ignored because – well, what happened at the end again?
We remember the first Saturday meeting of the conferences: Alabama 34, Clemson 10.
We remember the final bowl meeting of the conferences: LSU 38, Georgia Tech 3.
Single games don’t project entire seasons. But Virginia Tech plays Alabama Saturday at the Georgia Dome, and this would be a good time for an ACC school to do more than just clear its throat.
“I don’t necessarily think the game should be painted as the ACC’s chance to save face,” said Todd Blackledge, a closer observer of both conferences but an outsider as a former Penn State quarterback living in Ohio. “But I do think the ACC is better positioned to represent the ACC in this game than it was last year.”
That said, he added: “Right now the SEC is the best league in the country, and not by just a little. I know one thing the ACC has been trumpeting is having the most teams in post-season bowl games last year. They have balance and parity. But everybody is chasing the SEC, and it’s been that way for a few years. I don’t expect it to be any different this season.”
The ACC’s expansion to include Miami and Virginia Tech in 2004 and Boston College in 2005 strengthened the conference, but not nearly to the degree most expected. The decline of the Miami and Florida State programs have prevented the annual marquee ACC championship match-up conference officials had hoped for. Certainly, expansion has had zero impact on the national title picture.
It's possible that was ACC commissioner John Swofford inside the Tiger suit at the Georgia Dome last year. (Ben Gray/bgray@ajc.com)
For perception alone, the ACC needs this game. It’s a high-profile game – yes, higher profile than Duke’s win over Vandy last year. Even Georgia Tech, for how well the program did under Paul Johnson in year one and altered perceptions with its victory at Georgia, undid some of that progress with its showing against LSU, another SEC school, in the Chick-fil-A Bowl.
We remember big games. We remember bowl games. The ACC sent 10 schools to bowls last year. That was more than any other conference. But it went only 4-6 in those games, and the bowl with the most cachet was Virginia Tech’s 20-7 yawner over Cincinnati in the Orange Bowl.
The Hokies finished with the highest ranking of any ACC school – only 15th.
The SEC was in eight bowl games. It went 6-2. Florida won another BCS title. The last three national champions and four of the last six have come from the SEC (Florida, LSU). The ACC hasn’t so much as had a team in the title game since 2000 (Florida State lost to Oklahoma).
Here’s the definition of bad timing: Miami won the national championship in 2001 and lost in the title game in 2002. But it was as a Big East school. The Hurricanes’ slide coincided with their move to the ACC in 2004 (9-3, 9-3, 7-6, 5-7, 7-6).
Tech’s Johnson often has spoken about fans and media overlooking the ACC’s competitiveness head-to-head with the SEC (6-6 including bowls last year, 9-12 in the last two). But few share his balance-of-power view.
“I think there’s some merit to what Paul is saying,” said Blackledge, a former quarterback who won a national championship at Penn State and now is an ESPN broadcaster. “But Florida has won a couple of championships. LSU has won. The SEC is playing for championships. When they’re in the post-season they do well. You come away with a feeling of their overall strength.”
Virginia Tech should be able to hang with Alabama. Meanwhile, Clemson took a safe step down. It’s opening against Middle Tennessee State.
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155 comments Add your comment
Camden Mark
August 30th, 2009
11:12 pm
Mountain West is a stronger conf than the acc.
Their top 4 would own ya.
Ralph
August 30th, 2009
11:16 pm
Ignoring the number to get to bowl games and head to head total records in favor of just Florida, Alabama, and LSU is a typical SEC media slant.
Ignoring the FIRST ACC-SEC match-up Thursday with N.C. State favored over South Carolina is the same SEC media slant.
Yea, the SEC has some traditional powerhouses – but the ACC balance makes the CONFERENCE competitive and more fun to watch. Even Duke has a shot a bowl this year. Tech is likely to do better than the Dawgs both in conference standings and national rankings.
No die hard
August 30th, 2009
11:24 pm
Come on people, get real. I like the Jackets, but there is no comparison to the SEC. Are you kidding me? Fla, Alabama, Tenn. Auburn in their heyday. LSU, not to mention Arkansas. Old Miss. S, Carolina is always a threat to sneak up on teams and kick butt.The ACC has improved but has a way to go. We all know Tech tried to get back into the SEC before they went to the ACC. In time the ACC should get there but not yet.
Hal
August 30th, 2009
11:29 pm
Comparing the SEC to the ACC in football is apples to oranges. The institutions, the funding, the fan bases are so different. These types of articles don’t serve much of a purpose in my mind except flame baiting. The ACC has done better than most would expect against the SEC when looking at the head to head records over the last decade or so but the ACC is never going to compete against the SEC on a consistent basis. The SEC is competing against the Big12 for top spot – those are the only two leagues in the country that have the $$$ and the athletes to be the best. Big 11 has the money but not the players. ACC schools have access to players but not the big football alumni bases (only clemson, FSU, and VT come close to SEC standards and clemson is 1/2 the size of most SEC schools).
kurt wallis
August 30th, 2009
11:59 pm
IN THE LAST 11 REGULER SEASONS I SAID REGULER SEASONS SEC IS 59-70 VS. OTHER BCS SCHOOLS!!! ACC IS 129-103,WITH THE 3 NEW TEAMS COUNTING WHEN THAY WHERE IN BIG EAST. POINT HERE IS SHOWING POWER OF ACC 12 PROGRAMS. ACC WAS 14-8 LAST YEAR VS BCS. SEC WAS 6-9 VS BCS. LOOK IT UP AT FANBLOG.COM GO BACK TO 9-10-08 UNDER CUPCAKS NOT ONLY DID SEC HAVE 2nd WORST % TO BE, BUT THAY PLAYED LEAST BCS TEAMS,AND MOST AT HOME. I AIM SO TIRED OF LAZY MEDIA NOT PUTTING UP THIS DATA. HOW CAN THIS BE MISTED???? SEC IS A MYTH!!!
Sick_of_the_conf_supremacy_talk
August 31st, 2009
1:04 am
You can tell fall is near when the sportswriters (sic) breakout their reusable columns on how powerful the SEC is. The simple fact of the matter is that every year 3/4 of the conference (9 teams) leans on the accomplishments of the other 1/4 to make themselves look good. South Carolina, Kentucky, Georgia, Vandy, Ole Miss, Miss St, Arkansas, et. al. have no real achievements of their own, so they try and tout the recent success of Florida, Alabama and LSU as their own.
In the past 20 years, the ACC and SEC have played a total of 188 games. The records for the respective conferences are as follows…
ACC: 91-97 (.484)
SEC: 97-91 (.516)
That seems pretty marginal to me for a conference whose always trying to claim dominance.
ACC its gettin better
August 31st, 2009
2:07 am
Of coarse the SECOND dominates with 3 to 4 teams at the top as mentioned, but the ACC is getting better. VaTech – sure hope they do better than last years season opener losing to ECU but haven’t heard that mentioned when talking about beamer ball. All those posts about BCS record is BS. Yes since its been here the ACC has been poor but in the 90’s the ACC teams we have now were on top and in more national title hunts. The bottom line is most of us on here are uga/gt fans and well neither one of them have been in that position and gt was the last to be there. I am excited to see how these things unfold for the next 5 years. The ACC may not have a chance. Let’s face it the salary of the top 4 or 5 power house teams in the SEC would pay for all the ACC coaches. So yeah you guys will continue to be on top but the ACC is getting better. Just like in hoops, kentucky may pay for calipari and fla may win some nc, but the second doesn’t come close to acc hoops. Hey I think its great that both major sports have a dominent conference from the souteast.
By the way, gravy train, I thought your exclusive sec conference contract is with cbs, that’s who plays your big games on tv. They’re still better football than NBC…… Who the hell wants to watch the losing Irish every week. At least the SECOND schools throw a bunch of cash at their coaches and they deliver. But hey maybe notre dame will be able to stay in the top 25 by sweeping the service academies.
Not Disappointed
August 31st, 2009
5:06 am
Jeff, your blogg has alot of merit. Lets hope for a better season for Georgia Tech! Ramblin Wreck!
Camden Mark
August 31st, 2009
6:17 am
.182 PIT-A-FUL
Scooter
August 31st, 2009
6:32 am
ACC needs to get fans to their own championship game. Smaller stadiums, less fans and empty seats at the championship game create a bad perception no matter what happens on the field.
Atticus
August 31st, 2009
7:19 am
Wow, the Maggotts stepped up and are playing two more SEC teams….wow, Vandy and Miss St. Wow.
Alabama Jack
August 31st, 2009
7:19 am
Everyone knows the NFL is divided into 3 conferences – the AFC, the NFC, and the SEC – THE NFC is the oldest, the AFC is the most competitive and the SEC pays the highest.
I’ll stick to the ACC – with its college football.
» SEC links: Charleston Southern sees more than a payday John Clay’s Sidelines
August 31st, 2009
7:34 am
[...] Jeff Schultz of the AJC writes that if the ACC wants to get noticed, it better step up against the SEC. [...]
m
August 31st, 2009
7:36 am
Jeff…what a sorry, lazy pile of journalism….you are the chan gomer gailey of sportswriters.
Shouldn’t the sec have to beat the ACC to support the outlandish claims made by these sec homer gomers?
If the sec is so strong….how did they go 4-6 with the ACC last year? How did mississippi, a team that couldn’t beat wake forest, go into the gainesville the very next week and knock off floriduh?
How did lil ole Utah come into the sec mecca…and literally stomp alabamma…a team that floriduh struggled with?
How did Wyoming, one of the worst teams in the nation…go into Knoxville and beat tennerssseee?
How did a team that wasn’t even ranked preseason and that runs a high school offense with a new coach go into sanford and son stadium and beat the #1 preseason hushpuppies in front of their home crowd?
It is the sec that cannot prove this bullshiite hype that you and your cohorts keep spewing at us in the ajc.
The sec is the most overrated and overhyped conference in history.
I will make you a bet…the ACC and sec play 7 games this seasson… The ACC wins a majority…how much do you want to bet Jeffie?
Lisa
August 31st, 2009
8:02 am
The media kisses the SEC’s rear end because they have the most fans. They can’t bad mouth the SEC or they don’t get readers, viewers, etc. If head to head match ups in the regular season don’t mean anything then what does? This argument is such a joke. Big stadiums and lots of fans don’t mean a thing. What happens on the field does. The ACC can hold their own with the SEC and they actually do it with real student athletes.
Required Reading | Hard Knox Sports
August 31st, 2009
8:02 am
[...] ACC v. SEC. [AJC] [...]
ut oh FOR UGA
August 31st, 2009
8:30 am
Pickens is taking the opener pretty seriously, as Georgia legend Herschel Walker discovered this summer.
The two found themselves north of Vancouver at a weekend shindig thrown by a mutual friend.
Pickens asked Walker how Georgia viewed the opener. His response: Not very seriously. In Walker’s defense, he might not have been well-versed on the Bulldogs’ schedule.
The next day, Pickens thanked Walker for his honesty and said his observation had been relayed to Stillwater.
“What do you mean?” the 1982 Heisman winner asked.
“That’s now on the wall in the locker room,” Pickens said.
Gen Neyland
August 31st, 2009
8:33 am
Maybe Coca Cola and Domino’s could team up with the ajc and offer an ACC Crying Towel as a promotional to every ACC fan respondent to this blog…
greg
August 31st, 2009
8:43 am
Miami and Florida State will never be back to where they were. There are too many other schools in Florida that now have pretty good programs that were non existent back when Miami and Florida State dominated. Florida is the elite school in that state and will remain for a long time. That’s the only difference. Other than that the conferences are equal.
Brad in Jasper
August 31st, 2009
8:44 am
First off, as a UGA guy, let me say this whole discussion is fruitless – and that includes all of the SEC and ACC people wasting time trying to make points. It still boils down to one word – perception. Perceptions are generally useIess unless a team is trying to get the marginal ranking needed to enter a BCS game (most notably BCS title games the last few years). I wasn’t even going to blog, but I wanted to gives props to Jeff (the blogger) on the space monkeys. I don’t care who you are, that sh*t was funny, man. Let’s enjoy the season folks, and leave the useless arguments to the loops on ESPN. Best of luck to Jackets, Dawgs, and (insert your team here).
Paddy
August 31st, 2009
8:47 am
Terry….saying the ACC would be as good as the SEC if the SEC didn’t have Fla…. Thats like saying the South would have won the Civil War if it were not for that pesky Gen Sherman.
Clay
August 31st, 2009
8:49 am
No, UGA’s season last year did nto turn out as well as expected; and, yes, Tech’s year ended up better than expected. That said, UGA still had the better year. UGA won more games, they won their bowl game (which was a New Year’s Day game) and they finished higher in the polls. Yes, Tech beat UGA by 3 last year; but, UGA won for the season.
Reality Check
August 31st, 2009
9:32 am
Geoff – Thats one of the dumbest arguments i have ever heard but I guess its par for the course for a Tech fan. Are you really comparing scores? Here’s one for you. UGA beat LSU by 14, Tech beat UGA by 3, so in your logic then Tech would beat LSU by 17? Could you please tell me how the LSU – Tech game ended up?
BankerDawg
August 31st, 2009
9:40 am
Agree with Brad.
These discussions inevitably end up with someone referencing some meaningless statistic from who knows how long ago, or, my favorite, someone starts using the transitive property to determine who would have won this, or who should have won that.
Meaningless.
IMO, the SEC is clearly outperforming the ACC in the only place that really matters, and that is playing for MNCs.
Do I think the ACC does not get the respect it deserves? Probably not, because the entire league outside of the guys in Durham is pretty darn good, and extremely competitive.
Does it matter? Again, probably not, not until one or two of them begin to compete at the highest level within the BCS system, which is playing for the title.
I don’t see that happening again this year, but maybe Tech will surprise some folks. I actually wouldn’t mind that happening, because it would make the season much more interesting, and just imagine the ramifications for our game in November….
SEC, BIG12, ACC, the rest….that’s how I see it. It’s up to the ACC to change everyone’s perceptions.
VT over Bama would go a LONG way towards doing just that.
GO DAWGS!
UGASlobberknocker
August 31st, 2009
9:45 am
Yawn!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
wake me up when you are talking about real football
Helluva Engineer
August 31st, 2009
9:45 am
Clearly the ACC or any conference cannot even begin to compete with the SEC at the top at least (and I say this as a diehard Tech fan). That is a tremendous compliment to the SEC football programs, and there is no shame in claiming that because the argument could not be less ambiguous. That said, the ACC is still an exceptional conference with some loaded football teams and is probably the most balanced conference in the country. There are clearly tradeoffs, and it is a perfectly plausible argument to say that despite the fact that the ACC will not come close to play for a championship this year, it still provides us with the opportunity to watch top echelon teams compete in a league where four or five teams have valid arguments for claiming the crown. Go Jackets!
Red Neckerson
August 31st, 2009
9:46 am
That stupid fleabag still can’t spell IRRELEVANT.
Trade School Junkie
August 31st, 2009
9:49 am
These 4 games could change the perception of the SEC for 2009:
1. NCST vs USC
2. Bama vs VT
2. GA vs OKST
3. LSU vs Washington
1. NCST QB Wilson is the real deal and probably one of the best Qbs in the country. NCSt has almost everyone back from a team that played VERY WELL after Wilson was back playing after a very bad concussion in first game vs USC. Wilson is the KEY reason why NCST will represent the ACC-A in the ACC-CG.
Second, I think VT is over-rated in general, so I’ll be surprised if VT can even hang with Bama. It might be a defensive stand-off for the first half. Second half will probably be all Bama. If VT wins, it would be a HUGE PLUS for the ACC. If VT loses by 10 or less, it would still seem like a small PR “victory” to the ACC, only by comparison to the blow-out loss by Clemson.
Third, THIS IS THE BIG ONE in the BCS picture…BIG 12 vs. SEC.
OKST will SCORE BIG. Dawgs wont be able to keep up.
The fact that Barnhart has stated dawgs will have to score 30+ to win, Belue has publically implored the players to “step it up,” Richt using the 21-0 scrimmage trick for motivation, and lastly Donnan publicly backing off his previouos “OKST are pretenders” commment from last week should make it all plainly clear….dawgs will likley get blown out.
And, worst of all…from a PR standpoint, THIS is game everyone is gonna remember throughout the season. It will have HUUUUUUUUUUUUUUGE BCS implications for rest of the year.
Lastly, Washington, oddly enough, might just pull the shocker vs LSU.
LSU lost of veterans from last year, especially on defense. Washington has new HC Steve Sarkisian from SoCal. Sark;s mentor/teacher was Norm Chow. What that means is UW is gonna throw the ball all over the place. And LSU’s most notable weakness is their passing D. This could be a HUGE upset.
That could leave the SEC 1-3 to start the season with losses to the PAC 10, Big 12, ans the ACC.
Red Neckerson
August 31st, 2009
9:52 am
MiamiVice is a complete dumba$$.
dan
August 31st, 2009
9:55 am
SEC-Great football conference, mediocre basketball conference.
ACC-Great basketball conference, mediocre football conference.
Not really seeing what the big deal is.
dap01
August 31st, 2009
10:05 am
Who is #83 for Tech in the picture? You can tell that he was excited to play in a big time college stadium. You can blame him for being excited. He had just won a game in front of his largest crowd since high school. Not too classy though.
PTC DAWG
August 31st, 2009
10:07 am
To the GT fan that thinks they will be 3-0 in the SEC this year, with huge wins over Vandy, Miss St and UGA….name your price? I’ll take the under…
VT Beast
August 31st, 2009
10:07 am
Good luck Tide. This game is going to be a violent one. Both defenses are nasty. The offenses are suspect, but I think servicable. I will say this, everyone who keeps talking about Clemson getting smashed last year is insane. Last year Clemson was a product of the media. VT destroys Clemson every single time they play. This will not be a debacle like that one. If VT wins, it will be because out defense eats the Tide’s new QB for lunch, and our offense displays its newly found passing game. If the Tide wins, it will be because their offense is better than expected, and their defense shuts down VT’s running game. What a great game to start the season. Good luck Tide! Go Hokies!
VT Beast
August 31st, 2009
10:13 am
On conferences: The ACC will be the #1 or #2 conference this year. I accept the ACC has been a solid but not great conference in the past few years. But last year was an upswing, and I really believe this year there will be 6 teams in the top 25 by the end of the season…
ACC IS A JOKE!!
August 31st, 2009
10:15 am
10-14 last 3 years in bowls!!!! That is the measuring stick when comparing conferences.
VT Beast
August 31st, 2009
10:15 am
And by the way, there’s a reason year in and year out the ACC has the most players go to the NFL: Because they are better players, and they are smarter players.
dan
August 31st, 2009
10:16 am
Sick_of_the_conf_supremacy
UGA has won SEC Titles in 2002 and 2005 and finished 2# in the Nation in 2007.
C’mon Tech/ACC fans, be objective here. If you want to Dog UGA out for them choking last year than that’s fair. But to say they have ” no real accomplishments to speak of” is crazy talk and makes you guys look like idiots.
And why do you feel the need to depend your conference? Why not just defend your team? I’m the first to admit that the SEC sucked in basketball last year. Why can’t you ACC fans just admit that your football conference is mediocre and that your flagship sport it basketball? ACC basketball is clearly the best in the Nation just like SEC football is the best in the nation.
bud johnson
August 31st, 2009
10:17 am
What did the GT football player get on his SAT ? Drool
dan
August 31st, 2009
10:17 am
Sick_of_the_conf_supremacy
UGA has won SEC Titles in 2002 and 2005 and finished 2# in the Nation in 2007.
C’mon Tech/ACC fans, be objective here. If you want to Dog UGA out for them choking last year than that’s fair. But to say they have ” no real accomplishments to speak of” is crazy talk and makes you guys look like idiots.
And why do you feel the need to depend your conference? Why not just defend your team? I’m the first to admit that the SEC sucked in basketball last year. Why can’t you ACC fans just admit that your football conference is mediocre and that your flagship sport is basketball? ACC basketball is clearly the best in the Nation just like SEC football is the best in the nation.
VT Beast
August 31st, 2009
10:18 am
Again, I said I’m not looking at the past. Last year I knew the ACC would be average….but competitive. I wouldn’t have said the conference would be that great. But I’m just saying that this is the year. I’m not about what happened on paper in the past. I’m about the future, and there are some insane teams in the ACC this year.
bud johnson
August 31st, 2009
10:21 am
Enter your comments here
VT Beast
August 31st, 2009
10:21 am
I totally agree the SEC has the best football in the nation. No question. But this year they will be challenged by the ACC. That’s all I’m saying. Will the ACC establish itself, ever, as a top football league? Don’t know. Probably not at the level of consistency the SEC has. But there will be years, like this year, when the ACC surprises. The ACC has had down years in basketball. So it isn’t as if the ACC dominates the basketball world every single year. But their consistency in being the top conference is definitely there….just like the SEC in football,.
bud johnson
August 31st, 2009
10:26 am
for those of you who think the acc is better than the sec, keep working on it. I’ve gotta run, I’ve got to get back to planet earth.
Georgia Grad
August 31st, 2009
10:45 am
Georgia Grad
Georgia Grad
August 31st, 2009
10:46 am
To all the Techies out there. YOU sux and the ACC is irrevelant. You’re pay back is comming and you know it. The only :pound the hound; will be done by you and you’re fraternaty brothers in your own dorm rooms the nights before the game. If you think you can win one game every 8 years and smack talk. Georgia people you have another thing comming. You are irrevelant and you’re pittiful stadium is a joke to every college teams that stomps your ass inside it.
Yellow Fuzz
August 31st, 2009
10:58 am
Looks like you spent some time on that reply Georgia Grad. I could only see maybe 15 grammatical errors right off the bat. Did you by chance get your degree from georgia in Journalism?
LOL
45-42
TWO backs rushed for over 100 yards
FIVE backs rushed for over 408
TWENTY-SIX to ZERO in the 3rd quarter
15-0 your grammatical errors to mine
More Random SEC Notes And Blurbs | MrSEC.com
August 31st, 2009
11:15 am
[...] of the Gamecocks’ Thursday night opener with NC State.Jeff Schultz of The AJC writes that the ACC will have to start beating the SEC if it ever wants to get noticed in football. That means you, Virginia Tech.Now with a healthy [...]
Richt's Cafe
August 31st, 2009
11:55 am
Jeff,
Would averaged enrollment and athletic budget numbers, SEC vs. ACC, shed any light on which conference might have some off-the-field advantages over the other?
Keep up the good work!
RC
SEC Kool-Aide Server
August 31st, 2009
2:04 pm
Here comes another Ice Cold Glass of SEC Kool-Aide. Jeff, your article certainly adds to the “perception” . . . good job and I’m sure the SEC ADs appreciate the support. Not too long ago, FL State was as dominant as FL. The ACC conference did not get the perception bump that the SEC gets from FL. Just clarify what you want to say. Is it that the SEC has the best team in the country or the toughest conference. . . . two different statements. Jeff, last year, the SEC bottom ten teams were 1-15 against FL and AL. The games were not even close (reference UGA verses FL and UGA verses AL). The SEC used to claim “best conference” status because it was so tough on “any given Saturday” which should be modified considerably.
Now, the SEC is tough because it wins the “big games”. A few years ago, FL State won the big games but everyone acknowledged the “ACC” as a whole was not strong.
Yes, the ACC was 6-4 against the SEC last year and they were 6-1 against the non FL and AL teams. Nice of you to bring up Duke victory over Vandy (at Vandy by the way . . . and did you vote Vandy in the top ten last year while drinking your kool-aide? . . . somebody did). How about Wake over Ole Miss or Ga Tech over UGA (pre-season #1 . . . voted by kool-aide drinkers)? I think there is solid evidence of a transition taking place.
I guess now the criteria has changed because the circumstances have changed . . . Keep serving up the Kool-Aid, there are plenty drinkers out there buying your paper!
Hokie Jim
August 31st, 2009
5:19 pm
I’ve been a VT alum for a long time. Up until last year, Beamer’s attitude towards bowl game preparation was that those games were a reward for a job well done during the regular season, so he would make the practices light and let the kids have fun. Last year was the first time that changed. They prepared for last year’s Orange Bowl game hard and didn’t play on the beaches nearly as much. The difference between the results of that game and the year before, against Kansas, was all the proof he needed that the team needed to prepare harder. There was just a different feeling leading up the game.
I think his change in attitude came partly because he and the rest of the coaching staff got tired of losing bowl games, and they got tired of people saying Tech couldn’t win the big games. I think maybe also because conference-versus-conference rivalries have become so big of late, and so bowl games have taken on added importance. It used to be that beating the in-conference rivals like Miami was the main thing, but now, as you can see in these comments, there is just so much smack going around about which conference is best, mostly from SEC fans.
Because of that, I believe the ACC is tired of the smack and is motivated to dish some out. The gauntlet was thrown a while back, and the ACC is getting ready to pick it up, I hope.
In any event, believe this…Frank Beamer and crowd is going to lose for lack of trying. They are going to play their hearts out for both VT and the entire ACC.