GREENSBORO, N.C.—Given the podium at the opening of ACC Media Days, commissioner John Swofford touched on some familiar themes.
The conference is thriving in its academic and athletic balance and it needs to win more non-conference football games. In his address Sunday, Swofford trotted out numbers speaking to the league's strength as an all-sports conference (91 participants in the upcoming Olympics have ACC ties) and for its academic prowess (the ACC was the only league with three football teams cited for their superior academic progress rates -- Clemson, Duke and Miami.)
But there's still the matter of achieving such success on the football field. Last year, the league was 9-16 against BCS conferences and 2-6 in bowl games. The league is 2-13 in BCS bowls since 1998. Given the quality of coaches and teams, there is no reason the ACC can't be more competitive, Swofford said.
"We just need to take advantage of the opportunities and win games," he said.
Other nuggets of information from Swofford:
#On how comfortable he is that all member schools are committed to staying in the ACC: "In a word, totally."
# On conference expansion: "Our focus at the moment is totally on 14 and making that work in the best possible way."
#He deflected a question about the possibility of Notre Dame joining the ACC.
"With Notre Dame, I think it's obviously they're very committed to their independence in football," he said. "Whether that changes down the road as they go forward, we'll just have to wait and see."
The stance of the league has been to accept members on an all-or-nothing basis, although Swofford said the matter hasn't been asked of member schools since Boston College, Miami and Virginia Tech joined the league in 2004 and 2005.
# The league is in the process of discussing "several different scenarios" for its opponent in the Orange Bowl. Likely possibilities are that the ACC champion, unless it is playing in the four-team playoff, will face a runner-up team from a conference such as the Big Ten or SEC or Notre Dame.
"We hope to have an answer for you on that in the not-too-distant future," he said.
# On the possibility of an expansion to an eight-team playoff: "The majority of (college) presidents didn't really give us the opportunity to talk about an eight-team playoff. So I feel good about where we've landed."
Working hard
Georgia Tech quarterback Tevin Washington was his typical positive self Sunday, giving reports on the work that he and the team have done over the summer to prepare for the season. He also provided an insight into the second half of last season, in which the Yellow Jackets finished 2-5 after starting the season 6-0. Washington said the team became complacent after the strong start.
Going to play Virginia in the seventh game of the season, "We felt like we were just going to go in there and take it," he said. "We found out the hard way" the necessity of preparing each week.
Washington said it took the team two weeks (the Jackets lost the following week to Miami) to recover, when they beat then-undefeated Clemson.
Said Washington, "I think experience-wise, it taught us a valuable lesson going into this season."
Washington said he has been working on all manner of throws in workouts with teammates, from short- to long-range.
"I've just been making sure, when I get the chance to throw the football, I'm dependable, like Coach [Paul Johnson] can count on me no matter what the throw may be," he said.
Loving the line
Tech linebacker Jeremiah Attaochu sang the praises of his defensive-line teammates who he hopes will make his work much easier this fall. Attaochu said that nose tackle T.J. Barnes has taken his offseason strength and conditioning training work very seriously and is ready to step into the starting lineup.
"Physically, he's cut weight," he said. "In conditioning drills, he can stand a lot more. He can be out there running with the slimmest defensive linemen. He's looking pretty agile."
Attaochu also liked what he has seen from incoming freshman linemen such as Francis Kallon and Pat Gamble.
"From what I've seen of them, they're high-character guys who work hard," he said.
In Golden's corner
Swofford put out his neck for Miami coach Al Golden, who was the subject of a Yahoo report last week that said he had direct knowledge of a then-equipment manager who was being used for recruiting outside of NCAA rules.
"If Al Golden were involved in anything inappropriate in terms of NCAA rules, I would be shocked," Swofford said.
Miami defensive back Brandon McGee also spoke for his coach.
"Coach Golden is a man of his word," he said. "I don't think that he would do anything against his ethics."
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