BAMAPHIN 22
FinHeaven Elite
Nearly three years have passed since the turmoil and brouhaha of the ACC's raid on the Big East. This season will mark the league's second as a full-blown, 12-team football conference. So, has the ACC accomplished its goal of becoming the nation's newest super-conference, the last remaining beacon of hegemony in a time of parity?
Well ... not according to Mailbag readers.
We're a year removed from the ACC raiding the Big East. Oh well ... life goes on. In Year 2, the Big East has two national powers, West Virginia and Louisville. Who from the ACC will be able to compete on the same level as the Big East elite? I don't see any ACC teams worthy of a couch being sacrificially burned!
-- Tonto, Morgantown, W.Va.
What's the deal with the ACC? It has been heralded as a "power" conference, but it seems like a race to the middle. Last year four teams were 3-5, two were 4-4 and three were 5-3. Is there any chance of a power emerging from the ACC, especially one not named Virginia Tech, Miami or Florida State?
-- David Nolan, Cincinnati
The last four years have shown a drop in the level of play of the ACC. Do you expect the conference to reload in 2006 and compete for the BCS title game? Will Miami and FSU ever regain their swagger?
-- Jose, Decatur, Ga.
I'd say the above submissions confirm what I've always believed: that we as fans tend to judge conferences largely by the strength of their top two or three teams rather than the league as a whole. Because while Florida State might not be quite the juggernaut it was, say, 10 years ago, you can't tell me the conference isn't much stronger today than it was back when the 'Noles were beating everybody 59-17 and 48-10. Just look at the most recent NFL draft, in which the ACC had more players selected in the first round (12) than any other conference. But I also agree that all that talent doesn't seem to be translating to the field. Though the ACC in recent years has become an extremely tough defensive league, nobody seems to be able to put it all together on both sides of the ball.
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2006/writers/stewart_mandel/05/31/mailbag/index.html
Well ... not according to Mailbag readers.
We're a year removed from the ACC raiding the Big East. Oh well ... life goes on. In Year 2, the Big East has two national powers, West Virginia and Louisville. Who from the ACC will be able to compete on the same level as the Big East elite? I don't see any ACC teams worthy of a couch being sacrificially burned!
-- Tonto, Morgantown, W.Va.
What's the deal with the ACC? It has been heralded as a "power" conference, but it seems like a race to the middle. Last year four teams were 3-5, two were 4-4 and three were 5-3. Is there any chance of a power emerging from the ACC, especially one not named Virginia Tech, Miami or Florida State?
-- David Nolan, Cincinnati
The last four years have shown a drop in the level of play of the ACC. Do you expect the conference to reload in 2006 and compete for the BCS title game? Will Miami and FSU ever regain their swagger?
-- Jose, Decatur, Ga.
I'd say the above submissions confirm what I've always believed: that we as fans tend to judge conferences largely by the strength of their top two or three teams rather than the league as a whole. Because while Florida State might not be quite the juggernaut it was, say, 10 years ago, you can't tell me the conference isn't much stronger today than it was back when the 'Noles were beating everybody 59-17 and 48-10. Just look at the most recent NFL draft, in which the ACC had more players selected in the first round (12) than any other conference. But I also agree that all that talent doesn't seem to be translating to the field. Though the ACC in recent years has become an extremely tough defensive league, nobody seems to be able to put it all together on both sides of the ball.
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2006/writers/stewart_mandel/05/31/mailbag/index.html
