ACC Roundtable #4

This weeks Roundtable is brought to by Brendan at From Old Virginia. The ACC Roundtable is a discussion amongst a group of bloggers who represent the ACC. In addition to us and From Old Virginia, they are:

Block-C (Clemson)
Gobbler Country (Virginia Tech)
College Game Balls (Virginia Tech)
BC Interruption (Boston College)
Tar Heel Mania (North Carolina)

Below are our responses to this week's assortment of questions. Enjoy and post your comments below!

1. Take a look into your team's past, as far back as you like. If you could pick one game and change its outcome, which would you choose and why?

If there was one game recently, it would have to be the 2006 UGAg game. A win there gives us a ton of momentum going to Jacksonville the following week. A win there means Chan's tenure finally turned the corner after all of the off-the-field crap he had to deal with. It was a game a lot of GT fans were really hurt by because it was the first time in a long time that GT was much better than UGAg leading into the game and poor team management ultimately led us to a loss. 2006 really was a defining year for Chan because it was one of the best assembled GT teams since Joe Hamilton. There were a lot of junior and seniors on the team including the defensive/offensive backfield not to mention All-World, nay, All-Universe Calvin Johnson.The 2006 season saw Chan grow in a lot of GT fans hearts. Everyone finally saw the maturation of all of his players. Ultimately, however, the season ended with more off-the-field issues (Reggie/Kenny Scott academics and Pat Nix/ Jon Tenuta dislike for each other) along with three heartbreaking losses. A lot of GT fans can relate straight back to that Thanksgiving weekend game for the loss of momentum going in to the ACCCG and the eventual termination of Chan in '07.

Historically, there are two others that would've been nice 1) GT could've used a win in Chapel Hill in 1990 to really cement that MNC and 2) Bobby Dodd's final season really deserved a W over the bastards from Athens, which would've probably led to the '66 MNC.

2. What non-ACC program most resembles yours?

There aren't many teams are similar to us in the country. Most teams that string together several winning seasons usually continually grow and improve and the coach departs or the team reaches a stable 10 win plateau. So in the W/L, I wouldn't compare us to many teams because we have very few extremely bad seasons and very few extremely good seasons.
I would like to compare us to the perennial underdog, non-flagship schools out there such as Texas Tech, Oregon State, or OK State. Teams that have severe disadvantages in fan numbers in their home states but still continue to compete with the instate football factories. I'd be willing to argue with fans from most of these schools that GT is probably one of the more successful non-flagship teams in college football history.

Look at some notable non-flagship winning percentages - Texas Tech vs. UT-A (25%), K. State vs. Kansas (34%), Oregon St. vs. Oregon (41%), OK State vs. OU (17%), Tulane vs. LSU (23%), Vandy vs. UT-K (27%), Iowa State vs Iowa (35%). FYI GT is 37% against the dogs. Thankfully, GT has never fallen into some of these teams' situations of losing 15-20 straight to their most hated opponent. That would be like watching Deliverance over and over every day for four-fifths of my lifetime. Either way hats off to the non-flagships. Keep on fighting the good fight.


3. Which do you prefer? The ACC of 2008: not too well respected around the nation, but a conference in which almost any team has a shot at the conference title? Or the ACC of 1998: getting plenty of respect from football pundits as a good conference, but dominated by one hegemonic superpower that we all hate?

There are pros and cons to both. But in the end, we see the truth. We would rather take the ACC of 2008, where all the teams seemed to have turned the corner to good and great teams. We're staying with what we've said all year: "It's ACC parity!" It's not mediocrity. Eventually the media will catch on! Everyone is beating everyone and we could theoretically have 10 teams bowl eligible. The media will soon see how the conference has improved itself as a whole and will rely on the conference rather than that one "hegemonic superpower."


4. Hey, it's basketball season! What are your expectations for your team? What kind of season would make you happy?

GT will be the thorn in everyones side this season. A seasoned point guard in Mo Miller returns with a great front count in Lawal, Aminu, and Peacock along with the addition of McDonald's All-American Iman Shumpert. We can see GT middling in the ACC this year and having a small chance to make the NCAA's. We won't be a Jarrett Jack and Co. show stopper type team but we'll be exciting to watch and we see this team having some of the best continuity that we've had since Jack, Ish, and BJ left in '05.

ACC Roundtable #3: The Wrap-Up

This 3rd week of the ACC Roundtable was generously brought to you by us, The Legacyx4. The most important questions revolved around where the conference stands in the long run when compared to the rest of the BCS conferences. Below are this week's participating blogs and links to their discussion:
Boston College: BC Interruption
Virginia Tech: College Gameballs
Virginia Tech: Gobbler Country
Clemson: Block-C
Virginia: From Old Virginia
Georgia Tech: The Legacyx4
North Carolina: Tar Heel Mania

Here's a recap of the questions:

1. There is no question as to whether the ACC is one of the toughest conferences this year as far as its constituents are concerned. Currently, 4 teams are bowl eligible while 5 are within one game of reaching eligibility. Is it mediocrity, or is the ACC on its way to being the powerhouse that expansion was supposed to bring?

2. With a few notable exceptions, quarterback play in the ACC has been poor across the past couple of seasons, contributing at least in some part to the lack of offensive potency in the conference. Where does the ACC stand today in terms of quarterback play, and do you think our offenses are improving?

3. There are 5 out-of-conference games left for the ACC - BC/Notre Dame, Wake Forest/Vandy, Clemson/USC, GT/Georgia, and FSU/Florida. We went 3-2 in those games last year, and then 2-5 in bowl play (with the only wins coming over Michigan State and UConn). How do you feel we as a conference will compete against the rest of the NCAA in the final weeks of the season, and are you confident in our bowl play?

4. As far as Tech fans are concernced, ACC officiating is absolutely atrocious, both in conference (helmet-to-helmet, lack of holding calls) and out of conference. Are you in agreement? List any specific, obvious grievances, or use this opportunity to verbally assault ACC refs.

5. Every college football fan has a favorite player not on their team. Who is that player for you in the ACC?


To avoid redundancy, we're going to lump questions 1 and 2 together. The blogs emphasize the potential of the conference. The league is young and we have clearly not arrived at the "national powerhouse" level we all hope to see the ACC become. In the words of BC Interruption, the quarterbacks "are turrible," but the most common factor and reason for this "turribleness" is the majority of inexperienced quarterbacks. Best case scenario says that the ACC in 2-3 years becomes what the Big 12 is today (as compared to the worst case, where we continue to be the ACC). Another common view brought on by the Roundtable is how we stack up to the rest of the BCS conferences. The consensus is not good. Many of us put the conference ahead of the Big East as it still struggles to prove prove that it deserves anything. When we all look at bowl projections, the possible Orange Bowl matchups are nightmares. The majority of blogs do not like the matchups. Though the ACC is tougher and better than it's been, we all agree that the "Elite of the ACC" does not match up well with the "Elite of the rest." It is the mid-tier bowls where we can hopfully show our improvement this year.

Remaining out-of-conference games:
The most common game that the bloggers picked is Wake Forest beating Vanderbilt. Though Dane does continue the tradition of The Legacy Crew being bold in our picks and admits that it would be "no surprise to see us going 4-1" in that week with the exception being Florida State losing to Florida. Yes, Dane does have a major boner crush on the Gators and Urban Meyer (says the guy who has a blow up doll with "THE LEACH" written across the chest in magic marker - Dane). Boston College seemed to have the second most enthusiastic crowd as it was picked to win its final OOC game against Notre Dame in the Catholic Bowl this weekend. After that, it's all a belief that the teams can "play it closer than in the past." The improvement is clear, we just aren't where we need to be quite yet. In summary, the ACC Roundtable sees more competitive games this year but still no better outcomes.

Officials Vent:
The ACC Roundtable seems to be made up of old men who are too complacent and passive. The Legacy Crew is proud to be the ones who put a little fire,yelling, and pissed off drunk attitude into the discussion! Yes, bad officiating happens everywhere, we'll admit it. However! When given the chance we will gladly rip the officials a new one and curse their mother's grave and the whistles that they blow! Assholes! College Gameballs, BC Interruption, and Gobbler Country all reply with a resounding *yawn* "bad officiating happens." *yawwwwn* From Old Virginia admits there is a problem and seems mildly annoyed with the issue.

Hey Block-C : we get the gist. Holding happens. Sometimes it doesn't get called, but we feel that violations like a prevented sack and safety should probably get a flag. However, photo evidence shows how much Clemson fans appreciate when refs don't call out people when they are holding somethin' ridiculous:

Favorite Players:
There are players who people can just enjoy to watch no matter what team they play on. We asked fellow members of the Roundtable who their favorite player was that they enjoyed to watch. Georgia Tech and North Carolina lead the way with exciting players in (former) GT WR Calvin Johnson and B-Back Jon Dwyer. BC Interruption needed a gun put to their heads to finally admit that Hakeem Nicks of UNC sparks their interest. Block-C surprisingly looks to a Florida State defensive player as a role model in Myron Rolle.


Look for Roundtable #4 to come around sometime next week.

ACC Roundtable #3

We are hosting the ACC Roundtable this week, so look below for our very own questions and Dane's Responses. Later in the week (Thursday hopefully) Winfield will write the Roundtable Wrap-up.
Here are the blogs who have partken so far: Block-C, Gobbler Country, College Gameballs, BC Interruption, and From Old Virginia.
Comment below!

1. There is no question as to whether the ACC is one of the toughest conferences this year as far as its constituents are concerned. Currently, 4 teams are bowl eligible while 5 are within one game of reaching eligibility. Is it mediocrity, or is the ACC on its way to being the powerhouse that expansion was supposed to bring?

As much as I hate the terms "parity" and "top to bottom," the ACC, top to bottom, has more parity than any other conference in the nation. The SEC is a two-team conference this year - Ole Miss won an upset due to the reigning in of the Tebow, protecting him for the second half of the season. UF burned themselves that game - when compared to when they played LSU, you can see that the Gators were holding back. No other conference has been as back and forth with what you can actually describe as quality play than the ACC (that's a boldfaced lie, the Big 12 probably wins out, but this is an ACC blog so screw it).

However, I don't think you can say anything about where we are going as a conference, only look at where we have been. I honestly think that overall, the ACC is a better conference this year. We may lack a nationally dominant team as of right now, but I would bet on at least an even split with any other conference if we were to go top-down against them. Part of the reason for this increase production is coaching. the ACC has always had players that are as good as say, the SEC, but coaching has just been poor. Now that coaches like former Duke coach Ted Roof and Randy Shannon have had a little bit of time to start molding their programs, and the additions of Cutcliffe at Duke and Johnson at Tech (not to mention that the perenially underachieving Bowden is gone), I expect the conference to continue to utilize all of the talent it has, but only time will tell.

2. With a few notable exceptions, quarterback play in the ACC has been poor across the conference the past couple of seasons, contributing at least in some part to the lack of offensive potency in the conference. Where does the ACC stand today in terms of quarterback play, and do you think our offenses are improving?

(Winfield's Response: I don't have a lot of time to look into this but here is the gist of my belief)

ACC quarterback play is not as bad as the mainstream media wants you to think. Quality quarterback play along with improved offenses are on the rise because the number of quality head coaches have increased within the conference. The argument can be made the the historically bottom half of the conference has improved in their staffing of coaches. The willingness to get rid of the old and bring in something new is the reason for improved offenses and quarterbacks.

3. There are 5 out-of-conference games left for the ACC - BC/Notre Dame, Wake Forest/Vandy, Clemson/USC, GT/Georgia, and FSU/Florida. We went 3-2 in those games last year, and then 2-5 in bowl play (with the only wins coming over Michigan State and UConn). How do you feel we as a conference will compete against the rest of the NCAA in the final weeks of the season, and are you confident in our bowl play?

As far as the season games go BC should knock off Notre Dame this weekend with fairly little ease. The rest of the games came on Thanksgiving weekend last year and we split 2-2. FSU probably won't beat Florida, but the other three are toss-ups. Wake and Vandy are both very well coached teams, Georgia Tech is f***ing tired of losing, and so is USC. Also, coaching at Clemson and UGA are weaker than their opponents as of right now, so going 4-1 in the season OOC games wouldn't suprise me.

Looking at the Week 10 Bowl projections on ESPN, which really don't mean anything right now, I love our chances to dominate bowl season. Every projected matchup looks winnable. I am high on the ACC right now, what can I say? Every team (well, maybe not N.C. State) has proven that they can hang with or beat any reasonably good team, so why wouldn't I feel good about it.

4. As far as Tech fans are concernced, ACC officiating is absolutely atrocious, both in conference (helmet-to-helmet, lack of holding calls) and out of conference (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tobqLJlxDBs). Are you in agreement? List any specific, obvious grievances, or use this opportunity to verbally assault ACC refs.

Well, I've already listed the things I can't stand. I won't even mention the fact that our DE Derrick Morgan was held like a tilling bull when we had FSU pinned in the endzone this past weekend - I'll opt for the second.

F*** you you f***ing zebras. I hope you all wind up in the side circle of Hell reserved for people who are incompetent at jobs that other people rely on, like DMV workers and elected officials. When you have a blog that chronicles how bad you suck at your jobs (which has moved completely to YouTube, I think), like miscalling F***ING FIELD GOALS, you should probably seek a new line of work that you can succeed in. I would honestly rather have SEC officials ref our games whenever we play UGA, because you at least know you are going to get nailed on every close call. The only thing that pisses me off more than seeing people throw stuff onto Grant Field from the stands of Bobby Dodd Stadium is when I see them miss your f***ing faces with a full bottle of water. One time I want to see one of you assholes, especially one that calls a BS helmet-to-helmet call, get slammed in the face with something heavy.


5. Every college football fan has a favorite player not on their team. Who is that player for you in the ACC?

I'd have to go with whoever the hell was blocking for Cedric Peerman when UVA played us. I didn't get the numbers of the left tackle and left guard, but wow, they opened up the world for a hell of a runningback. I haven't seen someone lock it up as hard as they have all season.

ACC Roundtable: Part Deux

It's the second installment of the ACC Roundtable in which blogs from across the ACC come together for a few segments of lively banter and discussion regarding our conference. This week's roundtable is hosted by Tar Heel Mania. So click over to his site for links to the other responses from across the league. Posted below are our answers to this weeks questions. Leave your comments below!

1. Okay, first things first: could someone please explain what the hell just happened this past Saturday?

The answer, my friends, is ACC parity. Who else can explain Virginia getting raped by USC and then getting back on track and rattling off a winning streak? Explain Maryland losing to Middle Tennessee State and then shutting out Wake Forest! It's parity. It's what makes the SEC so good! Eventually we won't have to play anyone outside of conference because we will beat up on each other so often! Look out "elite" conferences, there's a new dog on top!

2. Good Maryland, Bad Maryland, we've seen a fair share of both in 2008. Good Maryland may be the best team in the ACC, while Bad Maryland could probably lose by 20 to anyone left on their schedule. Which Maryland do we see for the rest of the season and where do you expect the Terps to finish?

Maryland may be beginning to feel the hunger and the fire of potentially winning the division but it's too late. The schedule is too difficult for and up and down team to remain consistent. For the Terps to have a legitimate chance at taking the Atlantic, they gotta go at least 4-1 for their rest of the season. Not happening. Florida State, Virginia Tech, and the ever dangerous BC Eagles will be too much for the Terps to handle to make a legitimate run. Look for them to play the spoiler role for the rest of the year. (ACC Parityyyyyyyy!)

3. Injuries are a part of college football, but they seem to have ravaged ACC offenses this year. Wake Forest has been without Sam Swank, Clemson is without C.J. Spiller, UNC is without T.J. Yates and Brandon Tate, Virginia Tech is without Kenny Lewis Jr., and NC State is without?just about everybody. Which team misses their fallen star(s) most and why?

Clemson is a mess with or without Thunder and Lightning. Sam Swank is clutch but just field goals can't win games, they just give you respect when you're getting shut out. Biggest loss so far this year has been Tyler Yates of North Carolina. With him, the Heels would have arguably beaten Virginia Tech and the roles of the positions of the two teams would be flip-flopped and us Jacket fans would be the biggest BC bandwagoners this week. Instead we're Noles fans and UNC seems to be on the outside looking in.

4. Last one: the pretty much unanimous division champs were Virginia Tech and Wake Forest last week. Given all the craziness that just happened, give us your updated ACC Championship scenario.

We're stickin' to our guns and staying with Boston College from the Atlantic. As for the coastal, it's almost to close to call right now. This Saturday will organize a few things out for us as Virginia (who controls their destiny) comes to Atlanta and Florida State plays the Hokies. So this week, things seem to be lookin' good for us but winning out the the conference schedule is very difficult. Will it happen? Probably not. Could it happen? Hellz yeah it can! Let's make the call: Georgia Tech from the Coastal and Boston College from the Atlantic for a rematch in Tampa! Who would have thought that The Legacy would ever say: GO NOLES! BEAT THE HOKIES!

ACC Roundtable Wrap-Up

The guys over at BC Interruption have posted the ACC Roundtable Wrap-Up. The first round was pretty successful so be on the lookout for more discussions in the future! Click here to read the ACC Roundtable Wrap-up.

ACC Roundtable: Midseason Checkup

And what a sudden and surprising first half it has been! Some of us ACC blogs have joined together for some discussion regarding the state of ACC football. More discussions will follow and will continue beyond football season. The first discussion is headed by the guys over at BC Interruption. Click here for the original post and responses from around the conference.
Enjoy!


1. We are about halfway through the season with the heart of the ACC football schedule upon us. Let's take a temperature check. Who ya got in the ACC Championship game? Has this changed at all from the teams you penciled in at the beginning of the season as part of your preseason predictions?

As far as Georgia Tech's fortunes, we had the Jackets slated for an 8-4 season two months ago with our losses coming from VT, Clemson, a Florida school, and Georgia. It should surprise no one that our expectations have been raised a good bit. We spoke to one of our starting defensive tackles, and he said that other than playing that school from Athens, playing UNC at Chapel Hill is probably going to be our toughest game left on our schedule, which could very possibly determine the ACC Coastal Champion (provided that Virginia Tech shoots themselves in the foot sometime soon).

Dr. Saturday does a pretty good job in chronicling the ACC pole position, and we tend to agree with him. Even though we would love to see the Hokies drop a few of their last games (which all happen to be conference matches), we are going to have to go with the most indecisive comment you'll probably ever hear from us - while everyone they play will be gunning to take down VPI (and are definitely capable of doing it), there is no reason not to favor the birds in every one of their last six games. It's frustrating, as one could make the argument that the Hokies are really not "that good"; however, they hit the strongest teams of the ACC at the right time and are now reaping that reward.

Since we sissied out on the Coastal prediction, we're going to get ballsy and say that BC gets to the Championship with a recipe that's heavy on lights out defense, skin-of-your-teeth finishes, and a healthy dose of bullshit - and it starts Saturday night against Virginia Tech.

Recap - The Hokies because we're a little bit country, and the Eagles because we're a little bit rock and roll. While these are the separate picks for each division, it is plausible prediction (if Dane's 2 a.m. standings math holds) - we could see a repeat of last year, with VPI suffering a heartbreaking season loss to BC only to meet them again in the ACCCG. Predicted attendance for such a matchup - 17. No, not 17k, just 17 people.2.

2. We've only played a few ACC games yet we've already seen some upsets of possible Championship game participants - notably Maryland over Clemson, Georgia Tech over Boston College, and Virginia over Maryland. Looking at the remaining ACC schedule, pick one league game for each of your ACC Championship game participants where they could be upset.

VPI needs to watch out for Miami, as no team in the league has more to prove than the 'Canes. They are desperately trying to take that first step in their return to glory, and so far only just falling short. If BC actually does manage to come out and decide they want the Atlantic title, it's a no-brainer - the Terps are their biggest enemy. Like one of those PCP fueled antagonists on COPS who can crash through a brick wall but then get manhandled by a 115 pound lady cop, the Terps are insanely unpredictable, and as the last game on the Eagles' schedule, we would be all nerves going into it with only one ACC loss.


3. Last one, the first BCS standings come out on October 19. While it is unlikely that an ACC team will play its way back into the National Title game conversation and a second at-large berth seems equally unlikely, at least we have the Orange Bowl! Is this the year the league puts an end to their 1-9 BCS skid? Why or why not?

Since the Orange Bowl gets the last pick for its at-large bid, the ACC Champion will end up playing a Big East champ, which means that this is the year the BCS embarrassments come to an end. Out of all of the teams that we have mentioned as possible ACC Champs (VPI, BC, Wake, GT, and UNC), all are more than capable of bringing the ACC at least a little bit of glory in the post-season.

However, we'd really like to address an assumption in the question that we think isn't necessarily correct. We believe the second at-large berth isn't a ridiculous hope - from the Coastal Division, Georgia Tech and UNC both could wind up 11-1 (only one of them could, though). Heck, even a 10-2 team from the Atlantic could wind up going - remember, last year we had a 10-2 team go to the National Title. This is college football, were craziness is the norm.