ACC football is on the verge of losing any semblance of balance.
As the ACC Football Media confab gets under way in Charlotte this week, Clemson is looking like the most dominant program in conference history. That’s because a combination of NFL-like facilities and talent have arrived at once was “Little ol’ Clemson,” according to its current head coach.
The Tigers have been to the College Football Playoffs four straight times and won two of the last three CFP championships. It is also because the competition within the ACC has become so splintered and features four more new head coaches. FSU won three straight ACC championships from 2012 to 2014 and one BCS national title. With Jimbo Fisher now gone, the ‘Noles have trouble selling out games.
You may say that Clemson winning four straight ACC titles against different opponents is parity, but the Tigers won the last two ACC trophies in Charlotte by a combined 67 points over Miami and Pitt of the Coastal Division. That is supremacy over the entire conference more than anything else. And every other team being near the bottom of the rankings underscores my point.
Last season, Wake Forest, Virginia Tech, Florida State and Carolina finished between No. 60 and 90 in the final Sagarin poll. The year before it was UNC, Syracuse and Virginia winding up between No. 71 and 81. In 2016, Boston College and Duke couldn’t crack the top 50. Add Louisville to the bottom feeders last year, Georgia Tech in 2015 and N.C. State in 2013, when the ACC expanded to 14 football teams.
Consistency at Clemson comes from coaching stability. Dabo Swinney has been head man in Death Valley for 10 full seasons and now is considered to have a program the equal of mighty Alabama. During Dabo’s tenure, only Duke has had the same coach, as David Cutcliffe was given plenty of time to pull the Blue Devils from last place to bowl eligible almost every season.
When the acceptance of such ordinariness hits the various fan bases, it only makes Clemson’s path to more ACC titles and CFP finals fours look easier. A fan of N.C. State, which has gone 27 years without winning a championship of any kind in any sport, tweeted recently. “Top 30 the last three years. I’m good with that.”
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“A fan of N.C. State, which has gone 27 years without winning a championship of any kind in any sport” this is blatantly incorrect, Art. Also, if there is any ACC school who should be disparaged for lack of care about their football program it should be UNC-Ch. I am sure even if UNC-Ch was a top 30 program the average attendance would hover around 25k while the reported attendance will always be 50k. Laughable really to throw rocks while living in a glass house.
Dude, the 27-year draught is a fact. Name one ACC or NCAA title State has won in any sport since 1992?
Wrestling, Swimming, Cross Country, and Softball.