ACC has fallen on tough times

It’s no secret that ACC football has lived off the success of Florida State. From 1991-2000, the Seminoles won two national championships, appeared in three BCS title games and finished in the top five every year. Over that same span, only one other team from the league (UNC in ‘96) finished its season in the top ten.

The epitome of top heavy.

Ironically, the league is now faltering and it has nothing to with FSU being down or a lack of depth. In fact, it’s the exact opposite. The ACC has become too good for its own good.

When Miami, Virginia Tech and Boston College left the Big East to join the league in 2004 (BC began play last year), a super-conference was born. With the Hurricanes and Hokies as perennial national title contenders and BC good for a top 25 finish every year, cupcake schedules became nonexistent. Now, with teams like Georgia Tech and Wake Forest stepping up, it’s becoming impossible not to slip up.

Unlike in basketball, where a strong conference prepares a team for March, only dominance prevails in college football.

Only perfection really.

That’s how mini-dynasties are born. Today USC has what Oklahoma had a few years ago, and what Nebraska had before that. Undefeated seasons put you on the map. It’s also no mistake that while these teams flourished, they had no more than one team in their respective league to mount a serious challenge.

How is any team in today’s ACC going undefeated? Mini-dynasty? What school is going to be able to control the league for even one year, let alone two or three? It’s just not going to happen.

It’s going on six seasons since an ACC team has even appeared in the BCS title game. It was FSU and they lost.

From the looks of things, the league might never get another chance.

For more on ACC football, check out:
David Glenn's ACC Journal
ACC Nation