The Confidential

The ACC Sports Blog

Archive for the tag “Football”

22 Jun 2013
4 Comments

Louisville 2014 Football Recruiting Update

With the Louisville Cardinals historical 2012-13 year coming to an end with a disappointing CWS performance its time to start looking ahead. Before we focus in on the 2013 football season lets jump ahead a bit. It’s still early in the 2014 recruiting process but the Cardinals are putting together one of their best classes ever. Louisville first ACC class brought in 15 commitments already, a number that is highly unusual for them. ESPN, Scout and Rivals are still evaluating the 2014 class and as the athletes compete in their senior season there will be many changes in the rankings. Even though its still early, lets take a look at some of the Cards top commits. Read more…

Posted by lenvillecards in ACC only, Football, Louisville Correspondent, Recruiting, Uncategorized and tagged , , , , , , , , ,
18 Jun 2013
2 Comments

Conference Comparisons: Football Recruiting

ESPN obviously does a very thorough job covering college football recruiting. Led by Tom Luginbill, ESPN.com has evaluations of players, schools, and conferences.  Yesterday, they updated the conference rankings for football recruiting.  The results may be surprising:

Read more…

Posted by acaffrey in ACC only, Conference News, Rankings, Recruiting and tagged , , , , ,
07 Jun 2013
1 Comment

Louisville ACC Football Schedule/ Kevin Ware Update

For all those Cardinals fans who look at the upcoming football schedule and yawns, you should take the opportunity to take a breath. When Louisville joins the ACC in 2014 the football schedule is going to be unbelievable. While the 2013 schedule lacks the marquee names the 2014 schedule and beyond are full of them.

Read more…

Posted by lenvillecards in ACC only, Conference News, Football, Louisville Correspondent, Schedule, Something Positive, Uncategorized and tagged , , , , , , , , , ,
02 Jun 2013
4 Comments

Defending Boston College

The recent records speak for themselves.  The Boston College Eagles have been terrible lately.  But ACC fans should not necessarily conclude that Boston College is not carrying its weight.  In fact, Boston College has more than carried its weight since joining the ACC 10 years ago.

First, the ugly.  The last few seasons for Boston College have been terrible.  Charles Barkley-esque “turrible.”  Just look at these recent records:

  • 2012-2013 Basketball: 16-17
  • 2012 Football: 2-10
  • 2011-2012 Basketball: 9-22
  • 2011 Football: 4-8

You do not need a calculator to understand that the Eagles have been awful.

But let’s not get carried away with Boston College’s recent woes.  Did you know:

  • Boston College has a winning record in football every year from 1999 to 2010?
  • From 2001 to 2007, Boston College’s basketball team finished in first place in the ACC and Big East three times, and never finished below 5th place in either conference?
  • That, as we recently noted, Boston College had the fifth best record of all ACC teams this past decade.
  • That, as we also recently noted, Boston College had the sixth best football record of all ACC teams this past decade.
  • Therefore, overall, Boston College has been the 5th best program in the ACC since joining, trailing only Florida State, Virginia Tech, Miami, and North Carolina in revenue sports performance.
  • Boston College has appeared in more ACC football championship games (2), than Miami, NC State, UNC, Virginia, Duke, Wake Forest, and Maryland combined (1).

So, while Boston College has fallen on hard times, just think of where they were before this recent sports drought?  In addition to opening up the Boston market to the ACC, the Eagles have more than held their own in the ACC.  And all of this while on an extreme geographic island without traditional rivals (like Syracuse and Pitt).

Posted by acaffrey in ACC only, Basketball, Football and tagged , , , , , ,
23 May 2013
4 Comments

More New Bowls Coming to NCAA Football

It has recently been reported that the Detroit Lions, having mastered the art of running a successful professional football team, are going to sponsor a bowl game in the ultimate holiday destination of Detroit, Michigan.  As a resident of the Detroit metropolitan area, I can make say that without it being offensive, fyi.  In any event, this new Detroit Lions Rust Bowl, or whatever it will be called, has opened the floodgates to numerous new bowls being contemplated/rumored, within even more atypical partners, such as:

Read more…

Posted by acaffrey in Bowls, Football, Sarcasm, Satire and tagged , , ,
21 May 2013
3 Comments

Detroit Lions adding a new bowl; ACC in the mix

It looks like the Big Ten Conference may finally get North Carolina and Virginia after all… but not as conference mates.

A few weeks back, The Confidential reviewed the future ACC bowl lineup. With four more teams entering the league, it was believed that the league might increase its bowl affiliations to nine or 10.

Brett McMurphy of ESPN is reporting that the Detroit Lions are looking to replace the Little Caesars Pizza Bowl after this season and operate a new bowl game at Ford Field starting in 2014.

The bowl will still feature a team from the Big Ten, but is expected to have an opponent from the ACC.

Read more…

Posted by Vinnie Saltine in Bowls, Football and tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
20 May 2013
7 Comments

Revenue Sports Decade in Review

Last week, we analyzed the last decade of ACC performances in football and basketball.  There were some surprises.  For example, Boston College in football and Florida State in basketball.  But what does it mean overall?  How about a ranking of the performances of all schools in both sports?  Here you go.

Read more…

Posted by acaffrey in ACC only, Basketball, Football, Rankings and tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
14 May 2013
2 Comments

Seminole Territory: ACC Meetings and Andrew Wiggins

The ACC ‘s annual meetings began in earnest yesterday and there are several topics of interest for Florida State fans:

1.  Bowl tie-ins for football:  We should learn the bowl lineup for the post BCS era this week.  Here’s hoping the addition of Notre Dame results in an appealing slate.  After the first day of meetings ESPN’s Brett Murphy has mentioned the potential for the Russell Athletic Bowl to host the #2 ACC team.  Most FSU fans would be disappointed with this result.

2. ACC Network:  Can the ACC really generate enough interest at ESPN to support another college oriented network?  If the answer is yes, then how much money will it bring to the conference?  FSU fans are anxious to fill the conference money gap as soon as possible.

3. Basketball Tournament Sites:  Will the ACC  consider a geographic rotation of sites for the ACC basketball tournament to better represent the geographic foot print of the conference?  Can the new ACC programs influence the other non Carolina schools to become less Carolina centric?  The selection of future sites for the ACC tournament could shed some light on the future direction of the conference.

Other potential topics of interest:

4. Geographic Division Alignment:  it’s time to make North and South divisions to create meaningful geographic rivalries.  Surely, FSU was able to work a deal “under the table” to enhance their ACC slate by adding Georgia Tech to their division in exchange for the Grant of Rights.  I can’t imagine the Seminoles signing themselves over for a 15 year commitment to the conference without some assurance of immediate benefit for the football program.

FSU fans are mostly tired of hearing about Swofford’s endless amount of promises for an improved revenue and an enhanced league.  It would be nice if the ACC could start to flex it’s muscle regarding the topics above so we can all sleep better at night.

Andrew Wiggins

The most disappointing part of Andrew Wiggins’ recruitment is also the most endearing.  He does not like the spotlight.  Unfortunately, there is no “inside information” available for fans to debate and dispute.  FSU fans are hoping for the best.  This could become the biggest day in the modern era of Florida State basketball.

Posted by wtnoleacc in ACC Network, ACC only, Basketball, Football, FSU Correspondent and tagged , , , ,
10 May 2013
4 Comments

Ranking the ACC-B1G Challenge Games

The ACC-B1G Challenge games were announced a few days ago.  After looking to see who your school played, the next thought was probably to check out whether any other games were intriguing.  And there are several.  So let’s just go ahead and rank them for interest.

Gold Medal Games:

1.  North Carolina @ Michigan State.  Tom Izzo v Roy Williams. That’s a lot of Final Four appearances.  MSU always reloads, and North Carolina never stays quiet for long.  This one should be a battle in Breslin.

2.  Michigan @ Duke.  Both teams had good seasons in 2012-2013, with Michigan exceeding expectations by making a run to the title game.  Both have a lot of production to replace.  Will be a great game though.

3.  Indiana @ Syracuse.  A rematch of a March Madness game that went for the Orange.  A lot of new faces in 2013-2014, but a lot of star power will be back and new to both campuses.

4.  Wisconsin @ Virginia.  The first one to 40 wins?  Don’t expect a lot of points in this one.  But this is still a darn good matchup.

Silver Medal Games:

5.  Notre Dame @ Iowa.  Any time ANY Fighting Irish team comes to town, it is a big deal.  A nice regional battle too.

6.  Penn State @ Pittsburgh.  A battle for Pennsylvania.  This one should be close too–Penn State has experience coming back.

7.  Miami @ Nebraska.  The Hurricanes invested in their program by hiring a dynamic coach.  Nebraska is investing in its facilities.  A better game on the gridiron, but one to keep an eye on anyway.

8.  Florida State @ Minnesota.  Both teams fell short of expectations last year.  A lot of new faces.

Bronze Medal Games:

9.  Northwestern @ North Carolina State.  This game might be underrated at #9.  But until the Wildcats make a Big Dance, it is hard to take them seriously on the hardcourt.

10. Illinois @ Georgia Tech.  Still waiting for that Georgia Tech team to turn the corner.  Illinois fans may feel the same way.

11.  Boston College @ Purdue.  Not exactly the old Patriots-Colts battles featuring Tom Brady and Peyton Manning.  It is what it is.

12. Maryland @ Ohio State.  Big 10 fans will be rooting for Ohio State.  ACC fans will be rooting for Ohio State.  Not much of a “challenge.”

Participation Ribbons:

Clemson, Virginia Tech, and Wake Forest are left out of the challenge.  We’ll give them participation ribbons even though they are not, obviously, participating.

Posted by acaffrey in ACC only, Basketball, Opinion, Predictions and tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
07 May 2013
12 Comments

B1G TV Revenue, Popsicles, and Trophies

Big 10 fans were scrambling around yesterday applauding the announcement that the conference would be distributing $25.7 this year.  It is unclear why the St. Louis Dispatch was issuing the report.  After all, the Big 10 did not want Missouri.  But it is what it is.

However, before Big 10 fans start looking for a popsicle to suck, it should be noted that the TV revenue contribution to each school decreased.  ESPN reported this regarding the Big 10 distributions:

The league’s fiscal year doesn’t end until June 30, but according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch’s Stu Durando, conference payouts to member schools should reach another record high this year. Figures provided by Illinois show that Big Ten distributions are expected to be $25.7 million per school, including $7.6 million from the Big Ten Network.

Last year, schools got $24.6 million from the league, including $8.1 million from BTN. In 2011, the number was $22.6 million per school and $7.9 million from BTN. The Big Ten continues to distribute more revenue to its member schools than any other conference, which explains why Maryland was eager to dump decades of tradition in the ACC to jump on board.

People scoffed at the Big Ten Network when it first began, but Durando writes that the venture will have resulted in $42.5 million per full league member over the past six years. The figure has decreased this year for the first time, but that’s likely due to an increased slice of the pie given to Nebraska, which does not receive a full share of league revenue until 2017.

So there you go.  Stu Durando calls it a “record” distribution, even though the to-school distribution is expected to be lower than either 2012 or 2011.  Oh wait, there is an excuse.  The lower distribution is because Nebraska is being given a larger slice of the pie.  And Nebraska will not even get a full share until 2017!  So apparently Nebraska’s mere increase in share caused a decrease in payouts per school.

Read more…

Posted by acaffrey in Basketball, Football, Opinion and tagged , , , , ,

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