A real power conference
I have to take issue with something Sports Illustrated's Stewart Mandel had to say about the Atlantic Coast Conference football scene a little while back.
Mandel argues that the ACC is suffering both because Florida State and Miami have regressed and because the mid-tier programs at Virginia, North Carolina State, Maryland and Clemson have made only slight improvements in terms of moving to catch up with them.
Which is an interesting way to look at it. After all, for starters, didn't both FSU and Miami - along with Virginia Tech - spend a significant chunk of the 2005 season ranked in the top 10 nationally?
All three spent several weeks in the top five - before FSU dropped games to Virginia, N.C. State and Clemson, Miami lost a nailbiter to Georgia Tech, and Virginia Tech came up short against the Seminoles in the ACC title game in Jacksonville.
And then the 'Noles went to the Orange Bowl and played #3 Penn State to three overtimes before succumbing.
So to say that the powers have regressed is off base. And based on the performances of UVa., State, Clemson and the rest against the big boys, it isn't fair to say that they have only improved slightly, either.
The problem that the ACC has isn't that its teams aren't as good as teams from other conferences - it's that there are too many of them that are good.
Basically every week, except for the one in which you get to line up against Duke, your team has a chance to win or lose. Can fans of the Pac 10 or Big 10 or Big 12 say the same thing - with a straight face, anyway - about their conferences?
The best college football in the country is played week in and week out in the South - in the ACC and the Southeastern Conference.
The only reason we have a hard time getting teams into the BCS title picture is because it rewards conferences that are top-heavy at the expense of real power conferences.
- Chris Graham