Should we worry about the ACC's perception?

Yesterday Patrick Hite at ACC Nation wrote a column about the ACC's perception throughout the country. For once someone wasn't trying to tear down the ACC or trying to defend it. The column had a very different purpose.

"The conference will never be a consistent threat to win a national title and I’m OK with that," wrote Hite. "Teams should embrace an ACC title and, if things fall into place they may earn a shot at a national championship. If things don’t fall into place, which happens more often than not, the ACC title is still pretty special."

I was caught of guard by this a little bit and had to stop and think about it. Should I just enjoy the ACC schedule and the possibilty of an ACC Championship and not worry about the rest of the nation and what they think?

Hite is absolutely right about how special an ACC Championship is. Wake fans only have to look back two years to remember, and I know that no one really cares that the rest of the country called it a down year in the ACC.

Still, it's frustrating to watch ACC football week-in and week-out and not feel like it gets the credit it deserves. There are a lot of talented teams and just because Florida State and Miami aren't the best schools in the conference right now doesn't mean the conference is awful as a whole.

I think I both agree and disagree with Hite's point at the same time.

I agree that an ACC Championship is special no matter what the conference looks like that year. If you listen to most players and coaches at the begining of the season they aren't talking about how they want to win a National Championship, they're talking about how they want to win the conference.

Ultimately, though, it is impossible for me to not want to come to the ACC's defense becaues I don't think the rest of the nation's criticism of the ACC is fair. All I ever hear is that the ACC can't be good because Miami and FSU aren't good. Why do those schools have to be the best schools in the conference? How long until it isn't a sign of a weak conference to have Wake Forest or Boston College be one of the best teams?

I love ACC football; it's fun to watch, fun to cover, and there is some great talent. If I thought the ACC was significantly worse than the other BCS conferences then criticism from others wouldn't bother me, but because I find the criticisms of the ACC unfair, I can't help but be annoyed by it.

Obviously it wouldn't hurt for the conference to win a few more bowl games, too. But is that all it's going to take? A national title? Even just a BCS win? Let me know what you think.