Sign o' the times
As many as 10 of the names that you'll hear called in the first round of this weekend's NFL draft will be those of Atlantic Coast Conference players.
Not bad for a league that hasn't had a legitimate national-championship contender in a good while.
Of note is that the first three ACC talents expected to go on Saturday - Mario Williams, D'Brickashaw Ferguson and Vernon Davis - hail from schools that combined to go 19-16 last fall.
Which prompts the question - could it be that the ACC is too strong for its own good?
The way to get to a national-title game, indeed, would seem to be to play in a conference where at best you have a tough game or two (see Texas, Southern Cal) - not one where even the also-rans are loaded with top-flight NFL talent.
That Williams (North Carolina State) and Ferguson (Virginia) were both on teams that upset eventual league champion Florida State last year is instructive here. As is the fact that Davis' Maryland team that finished 5-6 overall took the 'Noles late into the fourth quarter on the road before finally succumbing.
It's a sign o' the times, ACC fans. Until college football decides to go with a playoff system to determine its best team, the ACC is going to be left on the outside looking in as far as that is concerned.
Oh well - at least we have reason to get up for football in April.
- Chris Graham