ACC Weekend Football Recap: October 7, 2012
Well, another week is in the books for the ACC and its national title hopes are in the dumpster. It is not Florida State’s fault that the ACC is out of the national title picture, but it is Florida State’s fault that the Seminoles are. The ACC’s other “BCS hopefuls” looked particularly poor also, with Virginia Tech, Georgia Tech, and Miami all losing. Simply put, the ACC continues to mire itself in football mediocrity.
Here are the current standings:
| Atlantic | Conference W-L | Overall W-L |
| Maryland | 1-0 | 3-2 |
| Clemson | 2-1 | 5-1 |
| Florida St. | 2-1 | 5-1 |
| N. Carolina St. | 1-1 | 4-2 |
| Wake Forest | 1-3 | 3-3 |
| Boston College | 0-2 | 1-4 |
| Coastal | Conference W-L | Overall W-L |
| Miami (Fla.) | 3-0 | 4-2 |
| Duke | 2-0 | 5-1 |
| North Carolina | 1-1 | 4-2 |
| Virginia Tech | 1-1 | 3-3 |
| Georgia Tech | 1-3 | 2-4 |
| Virginia | 0-2 | 2-4 |
So there you have it. Maryland, of all teams, is leading the Atlantic division. And Miami and Duke are pacing the Coastal division. If you bet $5 in Vegas on a Duke-Maryland championship game, you’d be looking for an island somewhere to purchase. But that’s a possibility (mathematically).
It was not all bad for the ACC. Duke rising to the occasion to beat Virginia IS a good story. Virginia remains a dumpster fire, but Duke has not beaten Wake Forest and Virginia–neither team expected to be as bad as they currently are. A Duke surge in football will be national news. Clemson beating Georgia Tech continues the legitimacy of the Tigers. And if Clemson can run the table and defeat a very hot South Carolina team in the process, they will be a legitimate BCS entry for the conference. Similarly, Florida State running the table would include a defeat of currently surging Florida, accomplishing the same thing. North Carolina State deserves some kudos for defeating Florida State too. And we’ll be generous and call the Syracuse-Pitt pillow fight on Friday night a “defensive struggle,” as both teams have had decent offenses all season that were stifled by good performances on the other side of the ball. These are all good things.
But it was mostly bad. The ACC could have used a return to relevance by Virginia Tech, but the Hokies lost to North Carolina. Not sure what is going on with Frank Beamer’s team, but it is not good. Georgia Tech looked better in losing to Clemson, but 2-4 really was not expected. That close loss to Virginia Tech looks worse and worse each week too. Boston College losing to Army simply confirms that the program is in trouble right now. And Miami remains an enigma–showing no signs of being able to compete on the national stage with another out-of-conference blowout loss. That suggests that the ACC is that weak nationally–a 3-0 team in conference cannot stay within 30 points of top 10 teams.
There is little to point to defend ACC football in 2012. At this point, it will be a battle for respect once again. It is disappointing that the conference is in “wait ’til next year mode,” but it is what it is.
The Confidential 