Who are the Top Dogs to Represent the ACC This December?
This year has been a whirlwind for college football, and especially those who play in the ACC. At the beginning of the season, Clemsonwas ranked fourth in the country but now sits at 3–5, fighting just to make a bowl game. Florida State is another team that entered the year with high expectations. After handily beating Alabama in Week One, the Seminoles have managed just one conference win and now sit at 4–4. Meanwhile, Georgia Tech and Virginia are having remarkable seasons, both currently 8–1, with a chance to meet in Charlotte next month.
Given the current state of college football, it is fair to be critical of the ACC, as the competition level simply isn’t on par with the SEC or the Big Ten. Along with the scarcity of strong opponents, the ACC just doesn’t seem to have the same type of recognition as the SEC or even the Big Ten. Even with some of the teams we expected to dominate this year, or at least be respectable, have shown disappointment. Given how this uncharacteristic season has gone, there are still several teams in the ACC that can make a deep run come December. One of those teams is Louisville, which has proven to be a scrappy, never-quit group, with wins against Pittsburgh and Miami, two other teams that can make noise late in the season. Led by USC transfer Miller Moss at quarterback and head coach Jeff Brohm, the Cardinals have one of the more dynamic offenses with Moss has already thrown for nearly 2,000 yards and 11 touchdowns. While Louisville has hopes of making its own run, their only loss on the year came to a team that is currently one of the favorites to make it out of the ACC, that being Virginia. This year’s Tony Elliott-led Cavaliers have been one of the nation’s biggest surprises. With a few dramatic late game wins and a couple of dominant victories, they are putting the college football world on notice that they are ready to compete with anyone. Georgia Tech is another team that can prove their worth late this season, as Quarterback Haynes King has produced Heisman-worthy numbers on the ground with nearly 800 rushing yards and 14 rushing touchdowns, the Yellow Jackets are definitely a team to fear in the ACC.
Given everything that we know, the ACC is probably one of the more up for grabs conferences in college football; with roughly five or six teams having a good shot. Virginia has probably the easiest schedule remaining, with a home game against Wake Forest, away at Duke, and home versus Virginia Tech. Again, this is college football, so anything can happen, but if they somehow don’t make the ACC championship, it would be a major disappointment. As for the other team that could join them, Louisville has very good odds with a very easy schedule as well, with their hardest opponent being SMU, who just upset number 10 Miami. The ACC would be lucky if it got more than one team in the CFP, given the current climate in college football, but as we know, it can be anyone’s game on any day.
