ACC Football: Decade in Review
Most sports fans are willing to make fun of a school based on its perceived on-field or on-court performance. Sometimes it is accurate; other times it is not. So, what we set out to do was look at the records of ACC schools in football over the past decade. Who do YOU think had the best record in conference games between 2003 and 2012? Worst? Courtesy of stassen.com, we were able to easily make the calculations.
- Virginia Tech had the best record in ACC conference games this past decade, going 64-20.
- Florida State was #2, albeit significantly behind the Hokies in win total, going 54-29.
- Clemson narrowly edged Georgia Tech for the #3 spot, with a 51-31 record.
- Georgia Tech misses out because of that ACC-CG appearance last year to finish #4 at 51-32.
- Miami comes in at #5 with a 44-35 overall record.
- Boston College has to be a surprise at #6, making it 3 out of the top 6 as former Big East schools, with a 41-38 record.
- North Carolina & Virginia tie at 35-45.
- see above.
- Wake Forest went 35-46.
- North Carolina State went 34-46.
- Maryland went 33-47.
- Duke was 12-68.
So, Big 10 fans, you are getting a Maryland team that was 11th in conference wins the past decade. While Maryland has had financial troubles, they were operating under the same system as the rest of its ACC peers. So, good luck with that.
What do you think the rankings would be for hoops? Would it be Duke, North Carolina, or someone else at the top? Who would be at the bottom?
The Confidential 
say what you want – the last ACC expansion (UM, VT, BC) was a football success – just not as successful as some had hoped for.
Good point…can you imagine how lackluster the ACC fotoball would had it not been for the additions of Miami, VPI, and BC?
Not to play the “what if” game, but had the Big East been able to keep those three schools, and add Louisville and Cinci, then there could have been an argument that the ACC schools were at risk of being poached instead of adding DePaul, Marquette, and USF.
Although, if the ACC is not being poached by the Big 10, it is unclear that the Big East could have done it. None of this is about on-the-field. The Big 10 is more money and more prestige than the Big East ever would have or could have been (i.e. with Penn State).
It depends. Going back to 2003, when ACC first poached Miami and VPI, there was no BTN and it was 10 years before any B1G expansion would occur. At the time, the B1G only had eyes for the Irish.
If the Big East had been able to leverage their successes both on-the-field and on-the-court into a better media deal AND had been proactive then it could have been a different outcome.
Yeah, but that assumes the Big East doing the things that the Big 10 did… and just as successfully… but then being able to do what the Big 10 could not.
I think getting FSU and Maryland to join the Big East with Virginia Tech, Miami, and Boston College still there would be feasible. But nobody else. And I am not sure that the early 2000 additions of Louisville, Cincy, etc., would move the needle back then.
How so? The ACC was able to attract 3 of the top teams in football from the Big East without having a network. They just managed to get more money from ESPN…which was in large part due to adding Miami, VPI, and Boston College. If you think about it, the Big East should have been make more money because they already had those assets.
You answer your own question. The Big East’s incompetence kept it from capitalizing on what it had.
But my gist is that who would leave the ACC for the Big East based on $$$? Miami and Va Tech make perfect sense in the ACC geographically. I stop at Maryland and FSU. FSU because they were new. Maryland because they would fit in the NE just as easily and apparently need $$$/don’t care about ACC rivals.
Who else? We know that the NC four and Virginia aren’t leaving based on $$$ or they would be gone now. Same with Ga Tech. Clemson? Nah. So… the ACC had two “loose” schools while the Big East had at least 4 (including Syracuse).
The best move might have been to kick out Temple and then combine forces with Penn State and the rest of the ACC: BC, Pitt, PSU, Syracuse, Rutgers, Virginia, Maryland, Va Tech, NC 4, Ga Tech, Clemson, FSU, and Miami. Not too shabby.
But neither conference had the vision. Even with Temple, that would not be horrible.
“The best move might have been to kick out Temple and then combine forces with Penn State and the rest of the ACC: BC, Pitt, PSU, Syracuse, Rutgers, Virginia, Maryland, Va Tech, NC 4, Ga Tech, Clemson, FSU, and Miami. Not too shabby.”
Even then UConn gets screwed… Poor UConn
Let’s hope this latest round of expansion is a huge success. The ACC has gotten stronger.
Pingback: ESPN’s Most-Talented Football Teams for 2013 | ATLANTIC COAST CONFIDENTIAL
Pingback: ACC Basketball: A Decade in Review and Prediction for the New ACC | ATLANTIC COAST CONFIDENTIAL
Pingback: Revenue Sports Decade in Review | ATLANTIC COAST CONFIDENTIAL
Pingback: ACC & The Olympics | ATLANTIC COAST CONFIDENTIAL
Pingback: Defending Boston College | ATLANTIC COAST CONFIDENTIAL