Post by EvilVodka on Dec 22, 2023 13:58:10 GMT
The ACC has never, ever come to fruition as a football conference
I don't fault them for going to 12 and trying to be a super conference (2004). The SEC for 10+ years had proven the success of that format.
But the ACC never tried to maximize their football inventory. They tried to create balanced divisions, under the hopes that Miami and FSU would meet in the Championship. This has never ever occurred in the ACC, not once.
IMO, they should have had their top football brands, namely FSU, Miami, Clemson, and Virginia Tech playing each other every year. FSU and Virginia Tech have only play 5 times in the regular season over the last 20 years. Similarly, VT and Clemson haven't played that much during the regular season.
Why do I bring this up?
This is how the other conferences get ratings. Penn State, Ohio State, and Michigan ALL PLAY EACH OTHER. It's must see TV.
The SEC succeeded because they had a set of 6 teams (LSU, Alabama, Auburn, Georgia, Florida, Tennessee) that produced top quality matchups.
What did the ACC produce? FSU vs. Wake Forest? Clemson vs. Syracuse? Right now, the only must-see TV game in the ACC is FSU vs. Clemson.
I know Virginia Tech dropped off alot after Beamer left, and Miami has been dead for 20+ years, but my point is the ACC did nothing to maximize their football inventory. They made no effort to try and showcase their top football programs.
Maybe North-South Divisions would have been better...at least that way the major brands would have gotten to play each other. Clemson-Virginia Tech is a possible rivalry that was never given the chance to start.
In fact, the first schedules that were released after getting rid of the divisions removed the Virginia Tech-Miami rivalry. It has since come back with the Calford SMU invites
It's almost as though a conference with basketball leadership was trying to run things....
