With Georgia Tech loss, ACC struggling for attention again
This was the sad scene in Jacksonville at the 2007 ACC title game. Attendance was announced as 53,212.
The ACC wanted to be the SEC. It wanted the money, the clout, the conference championship game, the TV contracts and pollsters to give mid-level ACC teams the benefit of the doubt because, well, they were in the ACC.
But once again, the ACC looks like a souffle that keeps collapsing.
Georgia Tech lost to Georgia Saturday. Clemson lost to South Carolina. So both halves of next week’s ACC championship game in Tampa lost to mid-level SEC teams that are headed to third-tier bowl games. That’s not how a conference gets money or clout or a big TV contract or the benefit of the doubt.
Meanwhile, the SEC title game matches No. 1 Florida vs. No. 2 Alabama.
While Tech coach Paul Johnson tries to figure out how to motivate his players after Saturday’s lost to the Dogs, ACC commissioner John Swofford needs to figure out how to spin this almost annual disaster into a positive. Good luck with that.
The conference has never received the marquee Miami-Florida State match-up it was hoping for when it expanded and split into two strangely divided geographic divisions (Atlantic and Coastal). Here’s the ACC’s brief championship game history:
♦ 2005: The first game has been the high point. It was a good game (FSU beat Virginia Tech, 27-22), was well attended in Jacksonville (72,749) and TV ratings that exceeded the SEC and Big 12 title games.
♦ 2006: Tech and Wake Forest were the surprise finalists and played a dreadful, touchdown-less game (won by Wake, 9-6). That year, just as this year, the Jackets were coming off a season-ending loss to Georgia. Announced attendance on Jacksonville dropped 10,000 (62,850).
♦ 2007: Two teams from the distant north (Boston College and Virginia Tech) caused attendance to continue to plummet. The No. 5 Hokies won, 30-16, so at least it gave the conference a highly ranked team going into the bowls. But then Virginia Tech was upset by Kansas in the Orange Bowl.
♦ 2008: The game was moved to Tampa. But it was the repeat matchup the ACC couldn’t afford. This time, B.C. and VaTech drew only 27,360 — which means half of the tickets distributed/sold weren’t even used. The Hokies won, 30-12. Not that anybody noticed.
♦ 2009: This week’s losses and the economy likely will hurt attendance. Regardless, the game would’ve garnered a lot more attention if Tech and Clemson were coming off victories.
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468 comments Add your comment
ATLfan15
November 29th, 2009
4:23 pm
Wow, the GT collective on this blog are a bunch of hypocrites. While almost all of you are busy bitching about UGA bloggers, you fail to remember that there were just as many ‘obsessed’ Tech fans gloating about last year’s victory. Spare me please…..you got handled by an unranked team and that stings…oops, did I say ’stings’?
Dawg Central
November 29th, 2009
4:24 pm
Reality……I never saw the gays in the Marine Corps maybe your nephew is looking them. Tell him to quit “wood watching” in the shower! And like I’ve always said….a man, like you, with gay
thoughts on his mind…..must be leaning in that direction…..your nephew probably takes after his uncle in the “wood watchers” club.
Big time?? Not
November 29th, 2009
4:24 pm
Four tickets, four hot dogs, four cokes.
ACC Championship. Winner gets 5th place in SEC East.
Paul in RDU
November 29th, 2009
4:27 pm
The ACC Championship game needs to be played in Charlotte. It needs to be in a central location. Charlotte is a fairly easy drive for everyone but FSU, UM and BC. You can’t hold it in ATL as the Dome is booked for the SEC.
Joe Fan – There is a reason that the game is 2 halves – points scored in the 1st count just as much as points scored in the 2nd. GT was lucky to only be down by 14 at the half. GT never stopped UGA’s offense. UGA deserved to win.
Having said that, GT had an opportunity to win at the end but couldn’t capitalize on it.
Roger
November 29th, 2009
4:27 pm
Josh, nice reply!! Seattle Jacket has obviously been hitting the bottle (or bong) heavily in an effort to ease his/her misery. Posting nonsense will not change the fact that UGA whipped a #7 team in their own back yard. That has to hurt like the dickens. Ouch!!!
nola dawg
November 29th, 2009
4:29 pm
Jeff – you just proved your argument and probably didn’t mean too. Saying UGA/USC are going to 3rd tier bowl games? one of those 2 are going to the chickfila bowl. Right?
So isn’t that where the ACC sends its best non-BCS team?? So the same bowl has the top tier of one conference and and 3rd of another? And doesn’t the SEC usually win those games? (see LSU, Auburn, UGA last 3 years).
Go Dawgs…
EcoDawg
November 29th, 2009
4:29 pm
Did anybody notice just how ugly Tech’s cheerleaders were? Tech sucks!
Rob2595
November 29th, 2009
4:30 pm
I think the ACC title game is in Fl for #1 the weather, #2 hoping people treat it like a bowl game and a destination place that would include a game plus a mini vacation, and #3 I bet they honestly believe FSU and/or Miami will be back on top soon and they will attract local fans in droves (esspecially FSU)
Oh and Gooo Dawgs.
BeeKiller
November 29th, 2009
4:30 pm
This is not news! There is the SEC and then there is everyone else. Not gonna change anytime soon either.
South Georgia Paul
November 29th, 2009
4:32 pm
Dearest Seattle Jacket:
First, shut up with the “dirty play”- the play was a routine play except that the tackler’s bodies fell on Nizbutt’s ankle. He reacted because he was in pain and the pile wasn’t getting off of him quickly enough- no one grabbed the ankle.
Excuses demean you- SEC officials? Without your DT and QB? Boo hoo. The best player on EITHER team, AJ Green, sat out the entire game. We don’t want to hear it.
Yes, big mouth Thomas inexplicably dropped the last pass. I’ll make a deal with you, we’ll give him the catch if you will give the dropped TD pass to Wooten back to us. Don’t whine because “I’m as good as the AJC says I am” Thomas choked; his coach choked on the 3 calls before that. Again, the excuses make you look like a wuss.
Yes, CPJ is here to stay. Would that be the same CPJ that panicked and called the 3 bombs with just less than 2 minutes left? Or the same CPJ who forgot to install a 2 minute drill? You should stop believing the AJC- Johnson has won in the Southern Conference, at independent Navy and in the ACC with a gimmick offense. That means he has yet to do ANYTHING in a real conference.
“Your best beat our worst”? You have it backwards.Your best in a decade beat UGA’s worst in a decade. That was 8 of the last 9. We are trembling in Athens, for sure. And if you think “Willie Martinez is the best D coordinator in the land”, he’ll be available by the end of the week. Funny, I missed the Martinez bandwagon; you must have imagined that while you were imaging that you had a real woman last night. In fact, a failed DC managed to stop your Pop Warner offense.
Yes, Yech plays in the A She She championship next week; the winner gets a “5th Place, SEC East” Trophy. If you want to save some travel money, we have some high school stadiums down here that will hold the crowd.
Finally, the winner should enjoy the Orange Bowl; I hear that the BCS is giving the A She She’s bowl spot to the GHSA Region 1-AAAAA Champion next season. Something about raising the quality of the teams in their bowls.
Reggie Ball
November 29th, 2009
4:32 pm
A long cold winter is upon us.
Navigator
November 29th, 2009
4:32 pm
A lot of folks watch the game cheer and throw as many insults as they can. I watched a nervous coach win a close game and refused to believe they won until the clock ran out. I saw him grab PJohnson and said something lengthy to him. Immediately afterwords he talked on ESPN, never smiling, still stern as when the game was on. I also remember what he said, and that his team just beat one of the best teams in the country, turned and walked away. He wanted this game and he wanted it bad, and did what he had to to win it, including changing his offensive strategy to something he’s never run a Georgia for a whole game, a devastating running attack. Is the ACC the SEC, no and they never will be, so maybe this yearly comparison should stop. They’ve have a chance for 3 of their teams to win 10 or more wins this year and 3 others to win 9. This is as good as it ever will be, but understand this that in future years 3 of those teams will be making a run into the top 10 on a regular basis.
BeeKiller
November 29th, 2009
4:32 pm
And yes, It was a relief to see some beautiful women on North Avenue for a change. (They were all wearing red and black.)
B-Daddy
November 29th, 2009
4:33 pm
What are ALL those Tech fans going to do with ALL the NEW GA Tech Gear they bought? I guess put it back up!!! There again, you could always get another HAPPY MEAL!!! Do you have to order a large fry to get a ticket?
dawgonit
November 29th, 2009
4:34 pm
I love the Tech fans downplaying the importance of this game. THEY MADE A RING TO COMMEMORATE THE GAME LAST YEAR!! This year it’s not important. Last year it was what they chose to put on a ring.
Also, it hasn’t been brought up, but Paul Johnson is a woeful 0-2 after Tech contract extensions. Both were big losses. Don’t worry though, I think he is up to a lifetime contract.
North Avenue Ned
November 29th, 2009
4:34 pm
Seems to me that the geographic “center” of the ACC is somewhere in North Carolina; maybe Charlotte? Regardless of FSU and Miami, Florida is an SEC state, likewise Georgia. Play the game somewhere on Tobacco Road, where it belongs. It’ll give people in Carolina something to watch between basketball games.
Seattle Jacket
November 29th, 2009
4:34 pm
Dawg Central. So not only do you give True Dawg fans a bad name,… Wait, no I respect the Military and especially the Marines way too much to say anything to that. But please, as a Marine, I would think you would be a little more mature. Thats the problem with the rancid few pound puppies. They win and lose the same way. NO CLASS! Well, when you don’t have to go to class to attend UGA, Class isn’t instilled. Good Day All. Go Tech!
Quagmire
November 29th, 2009
4:36 pm
Giggity giggity goo!!
DawgFan
November 29th, 2009
4:37 pm
First the country needs to care. They don’t. The SEC, Big 12, Big 10 (sissy conference without a conference championship) is college football. Add a few more teams and that is it. The ACC. Weak conference, weak teams, small stadiums (except Florida State and Clemson who should wake up and beg to get into the SEC). That Georgia Tech and Clemson are even given the chance to go to a BCS Bowl is silly. The ACC may want to be the SEC, but it will NEVER happen. If you took Tech or Clemson and put them in the SEC they probably wouldn’t qualify for a bowl.
BOOGIES THE MAN FROM HARTWELL GA
November 29th, 2009
4:39 pm
DAWG NATION……… DONT LET THEM KID YOU, THEY ARE READING US LOUD AND CLEAR…………… CAN SEE THEIR BUTS PUCKERING UP NOW…SO MAD THEY COULD SQUEEZE A GRAPE……… HATS ………..
DawgFan
November 29th, 2009
4:39 pm
Oh and BTW the reason FLorida State and Miami are also rans is because all the kids in FLorida go to a real football school, an SEC school, Florida. That is the issue. Place the SEC Championship in Tampa or Jacksonville and it would sell out. It wouldn’t matter where it is.
clickdawg
November 29th, 2009
4:40 pm
bull joe fan, tech just flat out got beat by better athletes with nothing to lose, 30-34 hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha….
BOOGIES THE MAN FROM HARTWELL GA
November 29th, 2009
4:40 pm
JEFF== TELL TONY BLOHARD TO CHANGE HIS BLOG ………
GTSUX
November 29th, 2009
4:40 pm
Hey saint simons, suck on this one long and hard.
(30-24) hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!!!!!
BOOGIES THE MAN FROM HARTWELL GA
November 29th, 2009
4:43 pm
OH AND BY THE WAY==== ME THINKS CLEMSON MAKES EM CRY NEXT WEEKEND………. JUST A THOUGHT………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
DawgFan
November 29th, 2009
4:43 pm
Heck, Tech can’t even fill up their 50K stadium. Why do you think anyone will watch the ACC Championship when Florida and Alabama will be playing. Give me a break. The ACC got stuck with Miami and Virginia Tech and now the Big East is better without them and better than the ACC. So funny. Hey, maybe they could play as the warm up for the SEC Championship? What do you think. Kinda like a High School game prior to the pro game?
SiddyBoy
November 29th, 2009
4:44 pm
Hey “Too Much” you idiot.
We played without the nation’s best receiver who would have made the points even higher for the Dawgs ! Plus we beat the _ _ _ t out of several of your players !!!
Biggest Dawg
November 29th, 2009
4:45 pm
Boogie’s,what’s a hat?
scott
November 29th, 2009
4:45 pm
Just want to thank TECH for letting our young players have career highs on the FLATS in Atlanta, gives us a little momentum going into 2010, thanks for the extra PRACTICE! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH
ACC champ gasme should be in Charlotte, not in Florida
Reality
November 29th, 2009
4:45 pm
Let’s repeat FACTS….
1. Ugay won the game. Not by much, but a win is a win.
2. GA Tech is going to their conference championship game. Ugay is staying home.
3. GA Tech is going to a BCS bowl, or a major bowl. Ugay is going to Shrevport?
4. GA Tech has 10 wins this season, with more to come. Ugay cannot spell “ten” – they think it is the metal on their roofs, “tin”.
5. GA Tech is ranked nationally with a 10-2 record and is being discussed on ESPN. Ugay is not on anyone’s radar.
6. PJ is in his second year with great success using players recruited for a pro-style offense.
7. MR has a declining program with systemic problems throughout.
8. The SEC has two dominate teams in AL and FL. The rest are just the rest. (Are you idiot ugay fans really riding the coat tails of AL and FL? LOL!!!)
9. The ACC has great parity with a few teams slightly ahead of the rest.
10. SEC fans are cocky, arrogant, narrow minded, loud mouthed, sore winners, sore losers, red neck, idiots – I refer you to the posts on this blog from them as evidence.
Those are the facts.
Jason
November 29th, 2009
4:45 pm
Reading the majority of these post… real classy! Admitted the SEC is strong but its not like UGA dominated TECH last night. Yes offensively but TECH was in it until the end. Using your rationale, KY is better than UGA. It happens…
Decatur Tech Fan
November 29th, 2009
4:45 pm
I dont understand mutts…..u beat us by 6 in our place and we are still ranked above you……lololololol….too bad rest of nation doesnt have smae opinion of your program u do..
BeeKiller
November 29th, 2009
4:45 pm
Yeah, I’m surprised Tony didn’t remove his blog last night as the fourth down pass hit the ground. HA! Mr. College Football isn’t so smart after all.
Barkin'Dog
November 29th, 2009
4:46 pm
IMHO, next week’s SEC Title game is the National Championship Game… with The Two Best Teams in the country, bar none. Let’s start a campaign stating the SEC is holding the NC Game this year… and show how the BCS-MNC Game really is a hoax… chosen by voters… instead of a preferred playoff to determine a TRUE Champion.
BOOGIES THE MAN FROM HARTWELL GA
November 29th, 2009
4:48 pm
BIGGEST DAWG……….. GO TO YOUR DICTIONARY,LOOK UP @-HAT, THEIR YOU WILL SEE PICTURE OF YELLOW FUZZ ,ST.SIMONS , ETC.
Junkyard Dawg
November 29th, 2009
4:48 pm
Dear Saint Simons,
30-24 hahahahahahahahahhahahahahahahhahahahahhahahahahaha
BOOGIES THE MAN FROM HARTWELL GA
November 29th, 2009
4:49 pm
YEP JASON= HAT TOO
BeeKiller
November 29th, 2009
4:52 pm
Jason, its not like UGA dominated Tech last night? 339 yards rushing, 7.7 yds a carry avg. What WOULD have been dominating?
B-Daddy
November 29th, 2009
4:53 pm
Decatur Tech Fan, What are you going to say when Clemson beats you and you you loose your Bowl game? Well,you now can now see what it’s like to play in a Bowl game after New Year’s. 30-24 lol lol lol
BOOGIES THE MAN FROM HARTWELL GA
November 29th, 2009
4:53 pm
DECATUR tech FAN………… HERES YOUR SIGN………. CPJ AND tech= O V E R R A T E D…… WHOS BEEN YO DADDY ALL THESE YEARS??????
Get Real
November 29th, 2009
4:53 pm
Yech fans,
How is it that Va Tech is ranked higher than you in the AP while losing to you and having one more total loss? The pollsters must know that you are truly a fraud. Maybe you can have #7 BCS ranking printed on your rings because surely this will be the highlight of your football career.
BE#3
November 29th, 2009
4:54 pm
There will be more fans in the stands watching the single A GHSA championship game than in Tampa watching the pointless ACC title game!
Love how Joe Fan thinks Tech was the better team in the second half. Well my friend, you play two halves of football. And if Tech was so good in that second half, they would have taken the lead and they didn’t.
BOOGIES THE MAN FROM HARTWELL GA
November 29th, 2009
4:54 pm
TELL EM B-DADDY
reggie ball
November 29th, 2009
4:55 pm
So much for Johnson’s dynasty! One and out. Who knows Tech fans, maybe you can get a rematch with LSU!
mrlee
November 29th, 2009
4:55 pm
UGA, good for you! now sit home and watch the rest of us play.
BOOGIES THE MAN FROM HARTWELL GA
November 29th, 2009
4:58 pm
BE#3 ………….I THINK YOU MIGHT BE WRONG………….. CLEMSON DOES TRAVEL STRONG.. REMEMBER,AARP DOES NOT LET OLD MEN IN YELLOW PANTS AND BOW TIES DRIVE PAST FOREST PARK GA ……………….
BeeKiller
November 29th, 2009
4:59 pm
mrlee, NOBODY has any interest in watching you all play.
rockdawg
November 29th, 2009
4:59 pm
they have just changed the name of the tech stadium . it is now known as boddy dodd stadium – mark richt field . 2001,2003,2005,2007,2009 . no wonder the jackets wanted to play the dawgs in the ga dome .
fred
November 29th, 2009
5:00 pm
Now we don’t have to listen anymore to the BS speculation of how NATS willl wind up in the national championship game. Go dawgs 30-24. hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha
BOOGIES THE MAN FROM HARTWELL GA
November 29th, 2009
5:01 pm
CPJ SAYS…………..SCARED SITLESS THINKING ABOUT CLEMSON, GOTTA WIN THAT ONE……….. CANT AFFORD ANOTHER GAME VS S.E.C…………..