AJC > Sports > Blog > Archives > 2008 > May > 12 > Entry
DEL.ICIO.USShould the ACC play nine conference games?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Amelia Island, Fla.—If playing eight conference games is good for college football fans and for television, would playing nine be even better?
That is one of the topics that will be discussed during this week’s annual ACC Meetings at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel.
The ACC’s head coaches begin their meetings this morning and on Tuesday will gather with the athletics directors to exchange ideas. One of the subjects that will be put on the table is the possibility of playing nine conference games instead of the current eight.
I’m going to spend a good chunk of today talking to athletics directors and coaches about this topic and will have a complete report soon. But here is the issue in a nutshell: Playing nine conference games would make scheduling easier and would save money. Coaches, I’m sure, will have a different view.
Another topic that will get kicked around this week is how expansion is working for the ACC I would say that after four years (three as a 12-team league) the results are mixed.
Let’s put it this way. If ACC Football were a stock, the smart money guys would probably tell you to “buy.” It hasn’t performed as well as everybody hoped, but just about all of the leading economic indicators for the future are good.
Yes, the ACC is 1-9 in BCS games. The ACC has yet to place two teams in the BCS, which was one of the stated goals for expansion. The ACC was 2-6 in bowl games last season. And yes, both Miami and Florida State have ceased to be Top 10 powers. Those are facts the ACC must face.
But last season the ACC finished with two teams (Virginia Tech, Boston College) in the final AP Top 10. Two out of the first three players taken in the NFL Draft (Chris Long of Virginia, Matt Ryan of Boston College) were from the ACC. The league had seven first-round draft picks, more than any other conference. So the league is getting players.
You know that Miami and Florida State are going to eventually come back. New coaching blood at Georgia Tech (Paul Johnson), Duke (Cutcliffe), North Carolina (Butch Davis, second year), and N.C. State (Tom O’Brien) will make those programs competitive sooner rather than later.
Virginia Tech is still going strong under Frank Beamer. Clemson will be in just about everybody’s Top 10 this season. Will this be the year the ACC finally gets two into the BCS?
Comments
By Dick Rod
May 12, 2008 8:04 AM | Link to this
Big no on nine conference games. It makes sense for the Pac-10 for a round robin format, but cuts down on potential out of conference games. Of course, I’d rather see more FSU-Texas type matchups rather than Miami-Southwest Florida State A&M, but with a few of the schools having traditional rivalries built into their schedules, would they ever set up a second “big” game in their two remaining OOC slots? Doubtful.
By bamabear
May 12, 2008 8:15 AM | Link to this
No…with the p** poor teams in the ACC…they should be play 8…with one mandatory game against the SEC….that way they will get a pre-cursor to the bowl season SEC beatdown….!!
By David-ATL14
May 12, 2008 8:16 AM | Link to this
Tony,
I wish all BCS Conferences would mandate 9 Conferece Games Schedule for all.
That would leave 3 games for out of conference play and at least one, if not two of those out of conference tilts should be against teams from other BCS conferences.
Do away with the Cupcake schedules that far too many so called powers play in non conference action.
The game of College Football would be better served by this approach.
By m
May 12, 2008 8:50 AM | Link to this
The ACC will be much better this season for several reasons….but the NUMBER ONE reason is clear….NO CHAN GAILEY. The worst coach in the history of the ACC is GONE…FOREVER!!! Hallleeeedamloooyah!!!
By David
May 12, 2008 9:14 AM | Link to this
I say play your own division 2x and not play anybody from the other division. I’m being sarcastic but I really hate conference championships in which a rematch from a regular season game takes place.
By David
May 12, 2008 9:17 AM | Link to this
Oh and BTW, the ACC should realign the divisions geographically. The intention of having FSU vs Miami/VT in the championship every year backfired.
By Mike
May 12, 2008 9:19 AM | Link to this
Actually, college football would be better off if the SEC schools were outlawed from scheduling Northwest Directional A & M, and forced to play real schedules like most schools do. At least Bama went and played FSU last year, and even though FSU was not good, Bama lost.
By Spike
May 12, 2008 9:56 AM | Link to this
ACC football… Yawn. Don’t believe me? Look at the ACC championship games lately.
By Mark it down
May 12, 2008 10:02 AM | Link to this
Bamabear is going to have a hard time living with his big, bad SEC team getting beaten by some small, puny ACC team on August 30.
They are going to have to put a suicide watch on I-20 West to make sure all of the Bama fans make it back home safely after the game. It’s not going to be pretty.
By George
May 12, 2008 10:39 AM | Link to this
Mike griped about SEC OOC scheduling, but ACC schools play their share of cream puff games too…
Boston College - Kent State GT - Jacksonville State, Gardner-Webb Clemson - Citadel, South Carolina St Duke - James Madison FSU - Western Carolina, Chattanooga Maryland - Delaware, Middle TN St, Eastern Michigan UNC - McNeese State NCSt - William & Mary UVA - Richmond VT - Furman, Western Kentucky
By CW
May 12, 2008 11:16 AM | Link to this
Agree whole heartedly with David. Time to re-align into north and south. Nobody can remember which division is which right now.
North = BC, VT, UVA, MD, UNC & NC ST
South = Wake, Duke, Clemson, Tech, FSU, & Miami
Doesn’t really matter which of the four NC schools are in either division, but keeping BC, VT, UVA and MD together in the North really makes a ton of sense. Maybe now that Bobby Bowden is on the way out this could actually come to pass. I believe he was the one that mandated FSU and Miami be in different divisions.
Not sure how important it is to have 8 or 9 conference games, but if they keep it at 8, it would be great to see the conference mandate at least 2 games every year against BCS conference teams. Two cupcakes should be enough for any team.
By Miles
May 12, 2008 11:18 AM | Link to this
Having to talk about college football while hanging out at the Ritz Carlton in Amelia Island must be tough. I suppose after a week of meaningful discussions, the athletic directors and coaches will reconvene next year at The Four Seasons in Maui in order to come up with a solution to this monumental problem.
By CarolinaJacket
May 12, 2008 11:33 AM | Link to this
CW says that two cup cakes should be enough for any team. Amen!!! Most ACC teams (and SEC teams also) have other rivalries outside of their conferences that are being lost. Also, playing new BCS teams occasionally would be fun and interesting.
By TDone
May 12, 2008 11:51 AM | Link to this
My suggestion is to have nine conference games, eliminate the conference championship game, and by doing so spread the regular season over another week, thus allowing teams to have an extra bye week. I know this means some rivalry games (like Tech-FC Athens) would not end the season, but if you play in a conference championship game, you have the same result.
The PAC-10 does this and it works. What’s more, we would hava situation where there would be 12 ACC teams playing on the final day of season vice just two.
Reaction???
By Ed
May 12, 2008 12:07 PM | Link to this
I already thought playing Duke was a “cupcake” for the ACC.
By Brian
May 12, 2008 12:18 PM | Link to this
@ CW - I like the idea, but I would switch up the Carolina schools so that the impact to the current alignment is minimal:
North = BC, VT, UVA, MD, Wake & NC ST South = UNC, Duke, Clemson, Tech, FSU, & Miami
New rivalry games: BC - Miami VT - FSU UVA - Tech MD - Clemson Wake - Duke NC ST - UNC
By Tiger Mike
May 12, 2008 1:27 PM | Link to this
Of courst the ACC is a buy, it can’t get much lower. I’ve seen Arena League Football games with more people in the stands than the ACC championship. Expansion was a knee-jerk reaction that was poorly executed from the teams admitted to the placement of teams in the two divisions. My personal wish would be for Clemson to join the SEC and persuade South Carolina to switch to the ACC.
By leland
May 12, 2008 1:52 PM | Link to this
Mr. CF—you ax should the ACC play nine conference games. Me, I don’t know but if I think of something I’ll get back to you. Your pal, Leland
By fat phil
May 12, 2008 2:39 PM | Link to this
I am sick and tired of all the cupcake bashing on these blogs. Leave My cupcakes alone! And stay the hell away from My doughnuts!
By Tommy Bow Wow den
May 12, 2008 4:50 PM | Link to this
Mark it down…… you post is only half correct. The mighty Tigers will pummel Bama in the Georgia dome which is correct. Clemson small and puny???? What are you smoking? Clemson will be the surprise this year in college football and I also think will be a much better team than the overrated dawgs. MARK THAT DOWN!!!!
By honest CF fan
May 12, 2008 5:12 PM | Link to this
What does it matter how many games they play when NO ACC championship team outside of FSU or Miami would ever get “voted” into the title game over Ohio State, Texas, USC, or half the SEC teams! Isnt the point of a season to win a championship!?? Therefore the whole acc season has little to no meaning!
In fact thats the sad case for 99% of teams not ranked in the top 10 to start the year. CF= ALL HYPE….LITTLE ACTION!
By shane #1
May 12, 2008 5:20 PM | Link to this
Tony, whats it like to hob-nob with the big wigs at evclusive resorts on the AJC’s tab? Do You have to attend all those boring meetings where They pat each other on the back, or do You just hang out by the pool and sip cold drinks? As to Your subject, if the ACC goes to nine conference games and makes money by doing so the SEC will follow suit. What will happen to the in-state rivalry games? UGA cancelled it’s annual game with Clemson after the SEC expansion. What will go next? UGA-GT, UF-FSU, Clemson-USC are all historic battles. Can We keep these games AND expand the conference schedule? UGA is leaving the South for games, and it is about time, but can We play nine conference games, move out of the Southeast, and keep the Tech game? Can Tech play nine ACC games and schedule UGA?
By Paula
May 12, 2008 7:37 PM | Link to this
Why are you talking about the ACC? Here in the Raleigh-Durham area, they are already talking about next season— in basketball!
By bbtick
May 12, 2008 9:08 PM | Link to this
Not sure about a 9th conference game, but one aspect of this discussion leads us (once again) back to a playoff. You want power teams to schedule power teams in September?…institute a playoff. If admission to the playoffs was based on a conference championship (and not finishing the season with 0 or 1 loss) teams would not be so paranoid about losing a game in September and being out of the NT hunt. In fact, power programs would actually begin to schedule MORE marquis (sorry, no spell check here) games early in the season because of the revenue that each game would generate. Think about it…in the last 10 years (BCmeS Era), we have gone from about 10-15 super non-conference match-ups in September to about 5. Want that trend to reverse?…playoffs…don’t believe me?…check out UNC’s basketball schedule for November and December. Some will say…”well, yeah, but those games won’t mean anything”…huh?…yeah, right…USC decides to pay a visit to Baton Rouge in September for a litte early season scuff-up and Bengal fans will yawn…whatever…I swear, if I hear one more person talk about how a playoff will diminish college football’s regular season, I’m going to vomit. Tougher scheduling is just another example of how a playoff would actually ENHANCE the regular season.
By Belvedere
May 13, 2008 1:02 AM | Link to this
I thought about this idea the other day, and I have to say that I agree. Here’s how: using Clemson as my example, they play every divisional opponent yearly (5 games). They also play TWO permanent crossover rivals (Ga. Tech and, say, Miami; 7 games). The other two conference games would be on a two-year rotation (Va. Tech/Virginia for two years, UNC/Duke for two years, for example; 9 games). This would assure that each ACC team would play every other conference opponent at home at least once every four years. Discounting USC, the remaining two games could be against a lower-tier 1-A/upper-tier 1-AA team and another BCS conference team. I know that creates a disparity as far as 5 home conference games one year and 4 the next, but this can be countered by having one of the bigger out-of-conference games played at home. Financially, schools wouldn’t take a hit. In conclusion, I believe playing 9 games in-conference is competitively more fair and gives a more complete representation for the conference in its champion each year.
By charlie
May 13, 2008 2:41 AM | Link to this
Speaking as a BC fan, the merger between the Big East and ACC (which is really what it was) still has potential but was terrible mishandled. We have one real rival in the ACC, and it’s Miami (I realize we lost for 22 years before this season). We’re not each other’s biggest rivals, but we’ve been playing for a long, long time, way before the Big East was even made. So why are we now going 2 years without playing them?
The divisions should be somewhat geographical. Culturally northern schools (BC, Maryland, UVA, Miami) and their rivals (VT for UVA and BC, FSU for Miami). FSU is the only school that doesn’t really fit in there, but then you have another division for just the deep south. Don’t say the divisions aren’t even: Wake, Clemson and GT are all solid programs and UNC and NCSU are on the rise.
Of course, they should just abolish the divisions entirely. Let teams play 8 games, pick the team with the best record, then take the next-best team they haven’t played and let them play for the title. Rematches should be avoided at all costs. Speaking as a BC fan, my memory of the comeback vs. VT will always be spoiled by the memory of losing to them for the title.
By Haywood Jablowme
May 13, 2008 9:43 AM | Link to this
Does the All Crappy Conference still play a conference schedule, or are they like those High School teams that suck and play a “non-region” schedule? either way, the ACC blows.
By J.J.
May 13, 2008 10:05 AM | Link to this
Look, when programs like Boston College and Wake Forest show up in your Championship Game, then your conference is a joke. BC would have gotten their heads handed to them if they played teams like Michigan, Michigan State, Ohio State, and Florida. Just as cream rises to the top, so does a stone sink to the bottom. Give. It. Time.
By JC
May 13, 2008 1:27 PM | Link to this
J.J. apparently forgot who BC beat in the bowl game last year. The team would be Michigan State. You are a moron.
By Jack
May 13, 2008 6:30 PM | Link to this
I don’t like the ACCCG idea. Having gone to Jax last year and experiencing a near empty stadium on a perfect day for football had me scratching my head. Perhaps when the game is switched to Charlotte in a couple of years, it will take off.
I like some of the ideas put forth here on reallignment, etc. I’ll have to think about 9 games versus 8.
I remember Boston College beating Georgia in the Music City Bowl in 2001, when they were given very little chance. One cannot always assume that an SEC team will win out over a team that was 4 and 3 in the Big East. My quick point is that having BC in your title game is not a joke, excuse me. The fact is that football in the ACC is not as important as it is in the SEC, all teams taken into consideration. But the players who strap on their helmets are just as tough, and they play hard.
By GS
May 16, 2008 1:55 PM | Link to this
AMAZING JACK CROWE AND THE JACKSONVILLE STATE ATHLETIC DIRECTOR ARE CURRENTLY CLEANING UP IT’S FOOTBALL PROGRAM BY KICKING PLAYERS OFF THE TEAM FOR DISCIPLINARY REASONS (STARTERS), AND THEY JUST SIGNED ONE OF THE MOST UNDISCIPLINARY COLLEGE PLAYERS OF RECENT. (RYAN PERRILOUX) THIS JUST GOES TO SHOW YOU HOW MUCH B.S. GOES ON IN COLLEGE FOOTBALL AT JACKSONVILLE STATE. I HOPE THE YOUNG MAN DO A GREAT JOB THERE, BUT I ALSO HOPE THE GUYS THAT ARE BEING KICKED OFF THE TEAM GET A SECOND CHANCE TOO! KARMA IS A MOTHER&^%@#?* !!!!!!!!