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
Sanford Drive
November 29th, 2009
7:01 pm
Nobody’s jumping up and down about a 7 and 5 record. We’re just happy that m, yellow fuzz, and ramble on have gone away for the rest of the year.
MLH
November 29th, 2009
7:01 pm
That 7-5 record just beat Tech’s greatest team in 20 years.
That must suck.
UGA puts sour note on SEC
November 29th, 2009
7:01 pm
Face it,
……………7-5 is sorry as hell.
CBB1
November 29th, 2009
7:01 pm
Hey Seattle Jacket,
Please don’t start making excuses about not having your starting DT for the game or your QB for one quarter. We didn’t have our starting Cornerback, Brandon Boykin, or the best WR in the country, AJ Green. If Green would have played, UGA would have put up 44 and not 30 against the worst defense in the country. That is part of your option offense- the QB gets hit 90% of the time. It just showed you that you better get another QB in there after Nesbitt leaves because Jaybo Shaw sux. Our worst team since Richt has been at UGA, just beat your best team since Joe Hamilton was rolling joints on The Flats.
GT is a 4th rate high school team
November 29th, 2009
7:01 pm
PERFECT HIGH SCHOOL QB RECORD BY JOE COX EXTENDED TO GT GAME. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA FOREVER
superDawg
November 29th, 2009
7:02 pm
national nerds HA.
UGA puts sour note on SEC
November 29th, 2009
7:02 pm
WOW
we are 7-5
woopy dog doo
MLH
November 29th, 2009
7:03 pm
How sad is it that Tech’s best team in 20 years can’t beat UGA’s worst team in 20 years?
Wow, must suck to be a Tech fan.
Goatman Speaks....
November 29th, 2009
7:03 pm
Baaa
Baaa
Baaa
So MLH....
November 29th, 2009
7:04 pm
Using your logic.. what does that say about the 2008 Georgie team?
LOL… you are so dumb
macrotech
November 29th, 2009
7:04 pm
cmac, funny you used the term “garbage”….considering the mutts continue to have a problem with that kind of stuff on game days! I CONTINUE to give props for the dawgs efforts last night, but am laughing at ALL the pup bloggers that have, ALL OF A SUDDEN, found their voices…..haven’t heard much yelping from many of ya’ll all season! Good win! Rivalry games are great for upsets! There isn’t one of you that wasn’t pissin’ on yourselves when we were driving the ball at the end….me included! Fun game….bad outcome for the Tech nation! Glad to have SO many of you pups back….we grew weary of smacking the few that stuck around! Best of luck till we meet again! GO TECH!!!
SOGAJACKET
November 29th, 2009
7:04 pm
Good game Georgia. Have fun at the Papajohns.com bowl.
GT is a 4th rate high school team
November 29th, 2009
7:04 pm
NEWS ITEM: 7-5 TEAM WINNER OVER 12-2 TEAM. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA AND HAHAHAHAHAHAHA AND MORE HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA FOREVER
Dawg Nation
November 29th, 2009
7:05 pm
Can someone please tell me why Boston College left the Big East for the ACC? They are clearly a Northeastern team and they have no natural rivalries with any of the teams in the ACC.
Hey John Swofford I love the fact that your ACC championship is a disaster. You had no right going behinf the back of the Big EAst to raid 3 of its teams. You destroyed your basketball league and now you are stuck with a piece of sh*t championship game once again.
came to get my medicine
November 29th, 2009
7:05 pm
that awful taste must be dog poop. no that can’t be cuz that dawg is dead. it still sucks losing to uga (and miami). This here is the difference between chan gailey and donnan and Mark and Paul. its a rivalry game and unfortunately the team that shows up and wants it more can win it. still smells like a diaper full of digested indian food. TURNOVERS: GT 2 – uga 1 (no INTs.) simple. can anyone say RECRUITING RECRUITING RECRUITING RECRUITING RECRUITING RECRUITING RECRUITING RECRUITING RECRUITING RECRUITING RECRUITING RECRUITING RECRUITING RECRUITING RECRUITING RECRUITING RECRUITING RECRUITING RECRUITING RECRUITING RECRUITING RECRUITING RECRUITING RECRUITING RECRUITING RECRUITING RECRUITING RECRUITING RECRUITING RECRUITING RECRUITING RECRUITING RECRUITING RECRUITING RECRUITING RECRUITING RECRUITING RECRUITING RECRUITING RECRUITING RECRUITING RECRUITING RECRUITING RECRUITING RECRUITING RECRUITING RECRUITING RECRUITING RECRUITING RECRUITING RECRUITING RECRUITING RECRUITING RECRUITING RECRUITING RECRUITING RECRUITING RECRUITING RECRUITING RECRUITING RECRUITING RECRUITING RECRUITING RECRUITING RECRUITING RECRUITING RECRUITING RECRUITING RECRUITING RECRUITING RECRUITING RECRUITING RECRUITING RECRUITING RECRUITING RECRUITING RECRUITING RECRUITING RECRUITING RECRUITING RECRUITING RECRUITING RECRUITING RECRUITING RECRUITING RECRUITING RECRUITING RECRUITING RECRUITING RECRUITING RECRUITING RECRUITING RECRUITING RECRUITING RECRUITING RECRUITING RECRUITING RECRUITING RECRUITING RECRUITING RECRUITING RECRUITING RECRUITING RECRUITING RECRUITING RECRUITING RECRUITING RECRUITING RECRUITING RECRUITING RECRUITING RECRUITING RECRUITING RECRUITING RECRUITING RECRUITING RECRUITING RECRUITING RECRUITING
7-5 UGA puts sour note on SEC
November 29th, 2009
7:05 pm
five time losers equals bush league
ccrider
November 29th, 2009
7:06 pm
The Ghost of Wally Butts: You’re right Ghost the world is full of idiots and it’s just a matter of time with the escalation of rhetoric on the blogs, in the stands on talk radio , that someone will take it a step farther and someone will end up dead. I’ve personally seen this bulls**ting lead to deaths over something as stupid as the color of a pair of jeans. So, go ahead and blow this kind of thing off, just hope it’s not you, your family or someone you know that gets hurt. We live in a more violent time than 8 years or 20 years ago.
I wondered what might have happened if a african american family had been sitting nearby last night, the woman, her family or innocent bystanders might have been hurt.
macrotech
November 29th, 2009
7:07 pm
superDawg, you’ve been one of the MOST quiet pup fans, lately….where’d you go for most of the season?
GT is a 4th rate high school team
November 29th, 2009
7:07 pm
PAPAJOHNS,COM BOWL HHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA, LOSING TO 7-5 TEAM MORE HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA FOREVER
came to get my medicine
November 29th, 2009
7:08 pm
Enter your comments here
xus aigroeg
November 29th, 2009
7:08 pm
The recruits ARE coming yomama! And as far as the option not working it is like any other offense. If you don’t run it right and make the correct reads and blocks then it won’t work. Just like I- formation offenses and shotgun offenses. Tech was definately off last night but i think Georgia had a lot do with that too. Everybody has those games. Believe me, this is not gonna be like the Gailey era. Tech is gonna win their share of game against you guys and you all know it. It is unique and hard to prepare for. 10 out of 12 games you are gonna have large yardage production. I believe in Johnson and i believe in his system. It’s simple. It works. Georgia did a great job against it last night and kudos to them. I think that most of these recruits they have are from the state of Georgia and that is awesome that he is recruiting the state and being successful. Tech is in good hands. I still dont know why he threw 4 times last night on that last drive when he was so successful running the ball in the second half. Had plenty of time to run it. Oh well there is always next year. That is what you guys said last year didn’t ya?
macrotech
November 29th, 2009
7:08 pm
ccrider, no offense, but WHAT the hell are you talking about?!
came to get my medicine
November 29th, 2009
7:08 pm
TURNOVERS: GT 2 – uga 1 (no INTs.) simple. can anyone say RECRUITING RECRUITING RECRUITING RECRUITING RECRUITING RECRUITING RECRUITING RECRUITING RECRUITING RECRUITING RECRUITING RECRUITING RECRUITING RECRUITING RECRUITING RECRUITING RECRUITING RECRUITING RECRUITING RECRUITING RECRUITING RECRUITING RECRUITING RECRUITING RECRUITING RECRUITING RECRUITING RECRUITING RECRUITING RECRUITING RECRUITING RECRUITING RECRUITING RECRUITING RECRUITING RECRUITING RECRUITING RECRUITING RECRUITING RECRUITING RECRUITING RECRUITING RECRUITING RECRUITING RECRUITING RECRUITING RECRUITING RECRUITING RECRUITING RECRUITING RECRUITING RECRUITING RECRUITING RECRUITING RECRUITING RECRUITING RECRUITING RECRUITING RECRUITING RECRUITING RECRUITING RECRUITING RECRUITING RECRUITING RECRUITING RECRUITING RECRUITING RECRUITING RECRUITING RECRUITING RECRUITING RECRUITING RECRUITING RECRUITING RECRUITING RECRUITING RECRUITING RECRUITING RECRUITING RECRUITING RECRUITING RECRUITING RECRUITING RECRUITING RECRUITING RECRUITING RECRUITING RECRUITING RECRUITING RECRUITING RECRUITING RECRUITING RECRUITING RECRUITING RECRUITING RECRUITING RECRUITING RECRUITING RECRUITING RECRUITING RECRUITING RECRUITING RECRUITING RECRUITING RECRUITING RECRUITING RECRUITING RECRUITING RECRUITING RECRUITING RECRUITING RECRUITING RECRUITING RECRUITING RECRUITING RECRUITING RECRUITING RECRUITING RECRUITING
tech man
November 29th, 2009
7:08 pm
Uga fans get a life!!! You won a football game.What the fans and coaches need to be thinking of is the 5 games you lost. Uga fans are the worst fans in the world!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
came to get my medicine
November 29th, 2009
7:09 pm
well at least we wont have to give C PJ a raise this year.
macrotech
November 29th, 2009
7:09 pm
xus aigroeg, INDEED!
SOGAJACKET
November 29th, 2009
7:09 pm
UGA and Connecticut in the Papajohns.com bowl. SWEET
GT and TCU in the Orange Bowl. SWEETER
came to get my medicine
November 29th, 2009
7:10 pm
can anyone say RECRUITING RECRUITING RECRUITING RECRUITING RECRUITING RECRUITING RECRUITING RECRUITING RECRUITING RECRUITING RECRUITING RECRUITING RECRUITING RECRUITING RECRUITING RECRUITING RECRUITING RECRUITING RECRUITING RECRUITING RECRUITING RECRUITING RECRUITING RECRUITING RECRUITING RECRUITING RECRUITING RECRUITING RECRUITING RECRUITING RECRUITING RECRUITING RECRUITING RECRUITING RECRUITING RECRUITING RECRUITING RECRUITING RECRUITING RECRUITING RECRUITING RECRUITING RECRUITING RECRUITING RECRUITING RECRUITING RECRUITING RECRUITING
macrotech
November 29th, 2009
7:10 pm
MLH, you’re correct….upsets can be sad, indeed!
Super Dog
November 29th, 2009
7:10 pm
This just in
The ACC championship comission has annouced its
“Please show up to the ACC Championship campaign”
The first 40,000 Tech fans will recieve 20 years of season tickets to GT home games.
PLUS EVERY FAN RECIEVES 50 UNSOLD TECH BEAT GA T-SHIRTS FROM LAST NIGHTS GAME
came to get my medicine
November 29th, 2009
7:11 pm
RECRUITING RECRUITING RECRUITING RECRUITING RECRUITING RECRUITING RECRUITING RECRUITING RECRUITING RECRUITING RECRUITING RECRUITING RECRUITING RECRUITING RECRUITING RECRUITING RECRUITING RECRUITING RECRUITING RECRUITING RECRUITING RECRUITING
7-5 IS SORRY
November 29th, 2009
7:11 pm
SORRY you pups will be 7-6 on the way home from
…………….your MINOR bowl game.
ccrider
November 29th, 2009
7:11 pm
The Ghost of Wally Butts: Hey Ghost I’m not whining, just warning. We live in more violent times than 8 years ago. I’m just glad there wasn’t an african american family sitting nearby,otherwise the woman, her family or innocent bystanders might have been hurt. Blow it off if you like, just hope when someone gets killed over this stupid behavior it’s not you, your family or someone else.
TC
November 29th, 2009
7:12 pm
UGA fans, you poor souls. Bring on another 8-4 season in 2010 and another year of moaning and groaning about the coaching. Willie bought himself another year. Enjoy the Gaylord Bowl.
UGA won fair and square, indeed. But if the shoes were on the other foot… If UGA was SEC-title bound and lost to Tech, they’d still be pumped about playing for the conference championship. Tech fans should remain optimistic. Tech will get to play in the Orange Bowl. When you go 7-5 and lose to Kentucky at home, you don’t get to play in the Orange Bowl. Or the Sugar Bowl. Or any bowl that matters, really.
UGA fans should be mortified by this win. It’s a bandaid on a hatchet wound of a program and none of your concerns from this season will be addressed. Kudos on the Pyrrhic victory.
SOGAJACKET
November 29th, 2009
7:12 pm
Congrats to the Bulldogs. You get to keep Slick Willie now!
GT is a 4th rate high school team
November 29th, 2009
7:13 pm
SOGAJACKET, LOSING TO UGA SWEETEST HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA FOREVER
Charlotte Dawg
November 29th, 2009
7:14 pm
Macro, I applaud you for coming on here and taking your medicine. Can you convince Pi$$boy, ramble, m, and yellow fuzz to come out and play as well?
ccrider
November 29th, 2009
7:14 pm
macrotech: read my post 6:22 pm
GT is a 4th rate high school team
November 29th, 2009
7:15 pm
GT FANS SAYING IT WAS A MORAL VICTORY FOR THEM TO LOSE TO UGA. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHA AND ANOTHER HAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHA AND MORE HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHA FOREVER AND EVER
SOGAJACKET
November 29th, 2009
7:15 pm
Kudos to the Bulldogs. They won fair and square and obviously wanted it more. I hope next Saturday is relaxing for them, but hey, they can watch the SEC championship and Tech does not have time to dwell on this loss, we have a game next week.
tech man
November 29th, 2009
7:15 pm
One more from the Tech Man.They will be many more UGA TECH games to come.I see a lot of jealous,rude,obnoxious,crying UGA fans on the horizon. (Go tech next sat.)
came to get my medicine
November 29th, 2009
7:16 pm
only the offspring of inbred white trash would wear red pants and think it was classy. who is still the best team in GA? they aint in athens I know this because the only team in athens is uga and theyre 7-5. not to mention your coaching staff is going to stick around for another year and drive that bus right off a cliff.
Super Dog
November 29th, 2009
7:16 pm
macrotech
REALLY IVE BEEN QUIET
I CHALLENGE YOU AND EVERY OTHER PERSON THAT READS THIS TO LOOK UP ALL THE BLOGS POSTED THIS SEASON
YOU WILL SEE THAT I HAVE BEEN POSTING ON THE UGA SIDE NOT MUCH ON YOURS BUT I HAVE BEEN ON ALMOST EVERY ONE EACH WEEK
GET YOUR FACTS STRAIGHT DORK
AND BY THE WAY IM NOT A FAIR WEATHER FAN I STILL BELIEVE THEY BETTER FIRE SOME ASSISTANTS INCLUDING WILLIE.
GA HAS MUCH SUPERIOR TALENT THAN GT YOU KNOW IT AND IT KILLS ME TO SEE A PROGRAM GO DOWN HILL WITH THE TALENT WE HAVE
30-24 DORK
MLH
November 29th, 2009
7:17 pm
I didn’t know last year was Tech’s worst team in the last 20 years. And last year also wasn’t UGA’s best.
Wow, must be a dumb tech fan.
Sanford Drive
November 29th, 2009
7:17 pm
m
November 27th, 2009
9:19 am
Also, when TECH stomps ugag, TECH will undefeated in the sec this year with a 3-0 record!!
Why don’t you just come out and admit that this bullshiiiite about sec superiority is a MYTH!!!
The sec is the weakest that I have ever seen it in my lifetime…the sec has two decent teams and 10 patsies.
macrotech
November 29th, 2009
7:18 pm
Charlotte Dawg, no medicine needed…it is what it is…my quality of life hasn’t been altered, short of my friends AND brother that are uga fans giving the expected ribbing….tends to stay civil, though. Anyone got a uga hat I can borrow? I have to wear one out in public at least once a week through Dec.! I don’t expect to hear from the more obnoxious bloggers anytime soon….unless, there are more stray dawgs running the streets on mopeds again….truly, I never understood how ANY of that was news worthy! Best of luck to you, sir….till we meet again, of course!
MLH
November 29th, 2009
7:18 pm
If UGA does keep Willie, at least we know he can outsmart Tech’s god in PJ.
cmac
November 29th, 2009
7:20 pm
I took my 10 year old to the UGA – tech game last night. After enduring the terrible pregame rap-fest & the hip hop crap throughout the game, I got a big kick out of questions. First he asked if the tech players were gangsters (see the player intros & the flashing of the gang symbols). Then he asked if that “stadium” was a real college football stadium! Lastly, he asked why tech’s coach was considered to be so good!
I have seen UGA play in every stadium in the SEC & many other venues (AZ State, Clemson, bowls), and NOTHING is as crappy as that piece of junk on North Ave. Their pregame videos SUCKED as much as their rushing game. Their video garbage during the game looked like snoop dog filmed it & SUCKED as much as their rush defense.
My favorite part, after taunting the hell out of their hopeless fans, was how fast the weiners turned off their scoreboards! literally 1 second after the game ended, the scoreboards were turned off!! What a classless piece of poop. Also, their stadium & everything surrounding it smelled like DAWG PISS!
Charlotte Dawg
November 29th, 2009
7:21 pm
Sanford,
I seriously would pay $20 to see a youtube video of “m” watching last night’s game.
The guy was sure feeling smug all year long. Now he’s a laughing stock.
And Pi$$Boy, come out come out wherever you are…come on here and make my day prick!
macrotech
November 29th, 2009
7:21 pm
Super Dog, SO sorry to hit such a nerve….guilty consciense? Now, IF you’d go back and read what I said, I called out ’superDawg’……dumbass!