SI grading of all conferences for 2018

[WoadBlue]

link

I think all of us were disappointed with the ACC this past season. We all felt it was not what it could have been. That led many of us to trash the ACC as lousy.

Especially if that is you, look at the grades. The ACC gets a B. The other P5s:

Big 12 C-
Big Ten B-
Pac 12 F
SEC A-

SI rates the ACC as the 2nd best conference for 2018. And probably all of us know that it was a down year for the ACC, probably because of coaching failures.

And true to form for journalists, even when being honest about ACC football, this one writes about the ACC as if the grade were a D. We should not fall into that way of thinking, much less stay there.

 

[uncboy10]

The ACC will look much stronger if Mack can build us up to be able to compete with clemson. I think the conference looked weak because there was only one legitimate playoff contender.

 

[WoadBlue]

The ACC will look much stronger if Mack can build us up to be able to compete with clemson. I think the conference looked weak because there was only one legitimate playoff contender.

Yes, but here are the points:

We ACC football fans have a long history of allowing others to tell us how weak they think ACC football is. That should stop. That grading is correct: last year, ACC football top to bottom was 2nd best in the country.

Here is the part that terrifies the Big Ten, which terror explains all the BT fan hostility still seen across the internet: when ND goes full football member, and UNC and perhaps Miami get up to speed, ACC football probably will pull up to virtual equal with the SEC.

 

[MWHeels]

How does the ACC get a higher grade than Big 12? They finished the season with more teams ranked in the top 25 and had 4 teams finish with at least 6 wins compared to 3 in the ACC.

The ACC has Clemson but the big 12 was deeper.

 

[WoadBlue]

How does the ACC get a higher grade than Big 12? They finished the season with more teams ranked in the top 25 and had 4 teams finish with at least 6 wins compared to 3 in the ACC.

The ACC has Clemson but the big 12 was deeper.

We're deeper than you think, and the Big 12 is all hot air with no defense.

UNC with decent coaching could have been 8-3. Louisville had the talent to win 7 games against a very tough schedule. And we were the 2 worst teams in the ACC.

This is like Mack telling the players that they are not as far away from winning a championship as they think. The ACC is not nearly as far behind the SEC as many assume. The SEC has built in advantages that will last. But ACC football can become the perennial 2nd best league, that occasionally is the best.

 

[MWHeels]

We're deeper than you think, and the Big 12 is all hot air with no defense.

UNC with decent coaching could have been 8-3. Louisville had the talent to win 7 games against a very tough schedule. And we were the 2 worst teams in the ACC.

This is like Mack telling the players that they are not as far away from winning a championship as they think. The ACC is not nearly as far behind the SEC as many assume. The SEC has built in advantages that will last. But ACC football can become the perennial 2nd best league, that occasionally is the best.

I agree that the ACC has the potential to be a strong conference with Mack at UNC and with the Diaz hire looking good so far at Miami. Taggert should improve in year 2 as well. But for the 2018 season, the big 12 was better. Not a lot better, but they were the stronger conference compared to the ACC.

 

[midline]

ACC does have potential. But currently, outside of Clemson, and to a much lesser degree Syracuse, the ACC doesn't bring anything to the table. In fact I would go as far as saying that without Clemson's success the ACC would currently get an F. Hopefully Mack can help elevate UNC and the league in the process.

 

[blazers]

UNC with decent coaching could have been 8-3.

No. It takes a QB to have a good offense this decade. And it takes healthy, eligible players to have a good defense. No amt of coaching was going to make that squad win 8 games unless we had all the QBs available (not hurt, not suspended) the majority of the season.

 

[Roady]

The Coastal sucks and only Clemson's success gives the conference a passing grade. That was SI's summary...

A back handed compliment, I reckon.