Week four, folks, and this time our host is new SBNer BC Interruption. Read on:
Now that most ACC teams' non-conference schedules are winding down and we are starting league play, it's time to take the vitals of the ACC's play in non-conference action. Here is how the ACC fared against the rest of college football through 4 weeks (based on my back-of-the-envelope math):
BCS Conferences
vs. Big East 2-2 (.500)
vs. Pac 10 1-1 (.500)
vs. Big XII 1-2 (.333)
vs. SEC 0-2 (.000)
The Rest
vs. I-A Indep. 1-0 (1.000)
vs. MAC 1-0 (1.000)
vs. Conference USA 2-1 (.666)
vs. Sun Belt 1-1 (.500)
vs. Mountain West 1-2 (.333)
vs. FCS 9-2 (.818)
Overall 19-13 (.594)
Comment on your team's (if applicable, sorry Miami) and the conference's non-conference performance through 4 weeks. As a conference, what head-to-head record against another conference stands out to you most?
Sorry, ACC. I know we let you down. First the shellacking from Cal, then sneaking over JMU in overtime, then the MTSU loss, then the five turnovers against Rutgers....our bad. We certainly didn't help matters.
As for the second part of the question, the one that should stand out the most is the two losses vs. FCS teams, which shouldn't be acceptable by any standard. It was nearly 8-3, too. That's one of the main (and many) reasons the ACC is no longer viewed as a premier football conference.
(Because we like to fan the ACC vs. Big East flames ...) The only BCS conferences the ACC has a .500 record against so far this year is the Big East (4 games) and the Pac-10 (2 games). Yikes. In a weekend where 2 of 3 Big East teams knocked off ACC teams, we have to ask. The ACC is still > Big East, right? Right??
Depends on how you judge a conference. The Big East still doesn't have a team that can stack up against Virginia Tech or Miami (sorry, Cincy), but their bottom half is better than the ACC's (well, except for Louisville, who would be a nice matchup for Virginia). Overall, the Big East is more balanced, but the ACC has more premier teams. Take that for what it's worth - for right now, I'm saying the Big East is slightly better, but the ACC still tops them in basketball.
On a scale of 1 to 10, where 1 is losing to a CAA team and 10 is getting the ACC some much needed street cred by winning the BCS MNC, how satisfied are you with your AD's non-conference scheduling this year? With the non-conference opponents your program has lined up over the next few years, will you be more or less satisfied?
Considering 1 is a CAA loss, I'd have to say Maryland's 3 point overtime win over James Madison is probably a 2. Maybe a 2.5. Combine that with the Cal game and losses to MTSU and Rutgers at home, and it's not exactly impressive. That said, I'm pretty satisfied with the schedule. I know I wouldn't have changed anything, except maybe make JMU a worse team, like Howard. Other than that, I can't complain about a top-tier team, a mid-tier team, and a low-tier team. Good balance.
Next year actually looks awesome - well, if Maryland is any good, that is. A game against Navy in Baltimore is great and should become an annual matchup, and it's great to see the West Virginia-Maryland rivalry renewed, albeit in Morgantown. If the Terps can at least be competitive, those games would not only give a lot of cred, but also be entertaining.
Last one, ESPN's College GameDay is heading to Chestnut Hill this week for Florida State (2-2) at Boston College (3-1). Both teams are unranked. Parts of the blogosphere are going completely ape s**t over the WWL's selection. Justify the selection (if you can). If not, tell us why you dislike the selection.
Pretty tough to defend this one. FSU could be a good team, or they could be terrible. Considering it's away, they'll probably beat BC handily, but neither of these teams are truly marquee. I suppose you could argue that it highlights the ACC and there won't be a lot of opportunities to do that, but couldn't that have been done with the VT-Miami, which actually looked like a good game that would've drawn a national audience? It makes even less sense when you consider the other possible matchups this week: LSU-Georgia, Miami-Oklahoma, USC-Cal, even Michigan-Michigan St. That's a pretty good choice, which makes the BC-FSU matchup all the more puzzling.