The ACC: Bowl Woes Don't Equal Woeful Conference
Criticism of the Atlantic Coast Conference has been rampant the last couple of days in response to Virginia Tech’s loss to Kansas which marked the seventh straight loss of an ACC representative in the Orange Bowl. But is this criticism deserved?
Overall records for ACC teams have been almost identical to records of the other major conferences. This year, for example (and these records include bowl games), the ACC had two teams win 10 or more games and three more that won nine. Only the Big 12 and SEC had more than two teams with 10 wins and every BCS conference had exactly five teams with nine or more wins, except for the Big East with four. On the other end of the spectrum every BCS conference has one team with three or fewer wins except for the Big 12 with two and the Pac-10 with none.
Certainly those numbers indicate the ACC isn’t significantly better or worse than any other BCS conference. Since the expansion to 12 teams in 2005 the ACC has ranked second, fourth, and this season fifth (pre-bowls, so it will probably end up sixth with the abysmal bowl record) in the Sagarin conference rankings. The top teams in the conference may not often finish in the top five like the top teams in other conferences, but to finish that highly in the Sagarin the ACC has to have strong teams finishing in the middle of the conference. The ACC has obviously been in decline, but to say “You’d be hard pressed to prove that [any BCS conference] comes close” to being worse than the ACC seems like a stretch.
If the primary reasons for saying the ACC is so awful are its bowl records the last few years then I have a question: Why do people put so much stock in the bowls? I understand the temptation to ascribe them great importance; they are games played against a good (or at least above average) opponent from another conference—something most teams haven’t had since September—so they should be a good measuring stick for comparing teams.
But if bowl games are really so important then Oklahoma is one of the worst football programs in the nation, having lost four straight BCS bowl games (two Fiestas, one Sugar, and one Orange). Yet no one says Oklahoma is a bad football program, so why would anyone say the ACC is a bad football conference? Notre Dame hasn’t won a bowl game since the 1993 Cotton Bowl but until this awful season no one would call it a bad program.
Bowl games are not good measures of teams or conferences. Really they’re just glorified exhibition games. No other major sport, either amateur or professional, requires teams to take a month off before playing their most important game of the season. After such a long break the rust is obvious; consider the numerous penalties, mistakes, and “what the heck was that?” type of plays seen in these games. The only way for this to change is to play the games closer to the end of the season. The obvious solution is a playoff, but that dead horse needs no more beating right now.
If, back on December 9 (or 16th if you prefer), the nine Big East teams had been matched up against the top nine ACC teams the ACC would have won at least six of the games. West Virginia would beat Virginia Tech, UConn vs Boston College would be a good game and maybe the Big East steals one or two others. How can anyone say the Big East would fare any better than that? Against other conferences the ACC probably loses more than they win or maybe splits, but that still doesn’t make it the worst conference in the nation.
West Virginia was certainly a great football team this season, but they beat Big East co-champion UConn 66-21 the last week of the season. How is that an indication of a strong conference?
It would be foolish for me to argue that the ACC is the best there is. Clearly the conference has struggled recently with the demise of Miami and Florida State, but that doesn't mean it doesn't deserve to go to a BCS bowl. Last season Wake led Lousiville 13-10 with 13 minutes left in the game. The year before that it took Penn State three overtimes to beat Florida State by three. This season Virginia Tech only lost by three as well, so it isn't like the ACC is consistently being blown out in these games.
Even for all of its bowl losses the ACC is not a bad conference and its regular season numbers prove it. I'm confident that no team in the nation goes in to a BCS bowl (or any other bowl for that matter) against an ACC team expecting to waltz out with an easy victory. It's too strong of a conference for that.
Your Turn
Do you think bowl records should make or break the reputation of a conference to the extent that they do? Just how strong is the ACC? Let me know so we can discuss it.
