What Week 11’s Woes Mean for the ACC

The lackadaisical performance on Saturday from some of these so-called “top dogs” in the ACC really put a stain on the conference and any chance of them getting more than one team in the CFP. From Virginia’s poor offensive performance to Louisville not being able to close it out, it's apparent this conference may be a lot more competitive than people think, despite the other in-conference games being snooze fests. With how this season has been playing out, there is a clear lack of sympathy for ACC teams among college football fans and voters, which is warranted given the weakness of the majority of the teams. All of this points to a larger issue, the ACC’s struggle to establish a clear identity and prove it belongs among the elite conferences in college football.

Going into yesterday, Virginia and Louisville were regarded as two dark horses to make some noise late in the season, as both of them had a combined  9-1 record in conference play before their losses yesterday. Even Miami, who was ranked 10th at the start of the season, has fallen with close losses against Louisville and SMU. Clemson is another example of a team who had mighty expectations at the start of the year and now is fighting just to make a bowl game. Part of the reason for why there is so much competitiveness in the ACC is the fact that the “better” teams often inherently overlook their competition, and have a complacent game plan, which was the case in Charlottesville last night that resulted in an ugly 16-9 loss against Wake Forest, who can compete in the ACC, but are not by any means a competitive team. 

Another reason for the constant shifting in the ACC is the lack of coverage from media outlets, and the ACC Network being overshadowed by the SEC Network, who also has a deal with ESPN to cover their games, which we all know is much more lucrative than any other conference’s network. It is likely we are going to see less and less publicity for the ACC, given the lack of contenders and excellence that they once had. There is a chance we will see some teams, such as FSU and Clemson, consider moving to the SEC, which has been floated around before, but will most likely not happen for some time. For now, the ACC has an identity problem and needs to work on its branding and identity in order to fix their national perception and reestablish a clear sense of purpose in the changing college sports landscape.