Where Does the ACC Rank Among the Power 5 Conferences in Football?

It’s been a rough year for the Atlantic Coast Conference in football this year. As a big fan of the ACC, it’s tough to watch how the conference has slipped in the past few years as far as college football goes. And as a fan of UNC, well…I won’t even get into it. Clemson is really the only team that represents the ACC in football in a great way. They have really established themselves at the top of the college football world these last few years. The problem is nobody else is stepping up. Florida State used to be a powerhouse and now they are just embarrassing sitting at 2-5 in the conference and 4-5 overall. That’s a team the ACC should count on to be good year in and year out. Miami used to be a powerhouse and were supposed to be “back.” But a 2-3 conference record and a 5-4 overall record says otherwise. Virginia Tech is another school the ACC should be able to count on to be a national representative, but what’s happened to them? A 3-2 conference record and a 4-4 overall record is something you would expect to see from a perennial middle-of-the-packer like Georgia Tech…who, if you really go back, used to be good themselves every year. Louisville was a huge acquisition when they joined the ACC several years back. They instantly boosted the conference’s rankings in football and basketball. But now they are 0-6 in the conference and 2-7 overall. They are like an employee who works on commission, and hits their commission cap after a week and just goofs off for the rest of the pay period. So after Clemson, the ACC is best represented by…wait for it…Syracuse! In football! Then NC State, who just lost to Wake Forest last night, and then Boston College who couldn’t hardly win a game for a few years not long ago. Sure, those teams have decent records this year, but everyone knows as well as I do they’ll get beat in their bowl games by better teams from other conferences. The SEC reigns supreme with absolute power houses like Alabama, Georgia, and LSU. Even if they are a top heavy conference. The Big 10 has to be next with powers Michigan and Ohio State leading the way. What could have been for that conference if only Wisconsin was as good as they were supposed to be this year. The Big 12 is the 3rd best overall with Oklahoma and West Virginia doing them great justice. And Texas, who nobody can seem to quite figure out, is still a good team. This is where the ACC comes in, at 4th best. So at least they’re not last. That belongs to the very pitiful Pac-12. That conference is just awful. Washington State is their number one team, and I don’t discount their success because they are a good team with a very good coach. They are not national championship caliber like Clemson is for the ACC, but they’re good. The only other ranked team is Washington who squeaks in at #25. No signs of life from Oregon, Stanford, or USC. So while things have been bad in ACC country this year, at least they are still better than the Pac-12. And more importantly, at least basketball season is here for the ACC.