ACC goes with 8 game schedule

Great job by the ACC today.  This does show progress for thinking football first (and not Tobacco Road first).

Hopefully we continue to see the ACC move in this direction.

ACC says eight league games is best

"For all the scheduling models studied and dissected, the hours and hours of discussion and debate, the formulas and variations turned all around and upside down, the ACC decided status quo in scheduling is best.

That should not come as a real surprise, even though momentum seemed to be swinging toward nine conference games. Indeed, it was a tight vote Monday at the spring meetings in Amelia Island, Florida -- 8-6 in favor of staying at eight league games (plus one nonconference game against a power five opponent).

In the end, though, the vote came down to putting the ACC in the best position possible to make the College Football Playoff. Today, Florida State and Clemson are the best teams in the ACC, and they had to be protected.

It's no coincidence both were staunchly in favor of remaining at eight conference games. Move up to nine conference games, plus their annual SEC rivalry game, plus Notre Dame every three years, and, well, that is asking them to do more than any other elite team in any other power five conference is asked to do on a yearly basis.

But it wasn't just Clemson and Florida State in favor of staying at eight. The ACC coaches leaned heavily toward staying at eight league games, as well."

"Based on what we have seen from Notre Dame under coach Brian Kelly, the Irish present a challenge to every team on their schedule. That includes Florida State, which faces the Irish, Florida and Oklahoma State in nonconference play in 2014. If the ACC had moved to nine conference games, you can bet that matchup against the Cowboys most likely would never have happened.

The second is nonconference scheduling. The ACC played one of the most challenging nonconference schedules in the country a season ago, featuring games against Georgia, USC, Florida, Northwestern, Penn State, Alabama, South Carolina, BYU and Oregon.

This year, Oklahoma State, Georgia, Ohio State, Nebraska, UCLA, USC and Iowa are on the nonconference schedule, in addition to the standard SEC rivalry games for Florida State, Clemson, Georgia Tech and Louisville.

There is one more aspect to nonconference scheduling that should be considered. Teams such as Clemson, Virginia Tech and NC State have played in the Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game in Atlanta. Louisville is scheduled for 2015. Florida State is looking into playing a neutral-site game at the renovated Citrus Bowl in Orlando. These games generate millions of dollars for the schools, and ACC programs have embraced them. A ninth conference game would have hamstrung some of them from accepting invitations.

This obviously was not a slam-dunk decision, and that should not be lost in the end result. The ACC needed eight votes to stay at eight conference games, and it got eight on the nose.

Some schools, like Miami and NC State, wanted nine conference games to have the ability to play more league teams, balance out conference schedules, and create more appealing matchups. Scheduling power nonconference opponents has become increasingly difficult not just for ACC athletic directors but for ADs around the country. Adding that ninth conference game would have created inventory while also providing more frequent matchups between rotating crossover opponents.

Perhaps the ACC will make a different decision somewhere down the line. The truth is, 2014 will be a test case for every conference in America. How do leagues that play eight conference games fare in the College Football Playoff vs. leagues that play nine conference games? How does all of that impact strength of schedule, especially for leagues with challenging nonconference opponents? Will the ACC be viewed favorably or unfavorably when judged against a team from the Big Ten, for example?

Despite the vote Monday, nobody really has the answer. So status quo appears to be the best way to go, at least for now. "

ACC makes the right decision and stays with 8 game conference schedule.

"The ACC’s Spring meetings are this week, and several important topics will be discussed including Division, the ACC Network, and 8 or 9 game conference schedule. Well it’s just about official on one of these, the ACC is going to stay at 8 conference games.  I am one person pleased to see this. I’ve been a proponent of the 8 game conference schedule for the ACC for nearly a year. 

My reasoning is as true now as it was then. The ACC isn’t ready for a 9 game conference game schedule. Yes, certainly some ACC members will not play each other for several years, and that’s a problem. I can understand the disappointment and incrustation in some circles. At the end of the day the ACC must do what’s best for the ACC, and at the moment that is not to play more conference games.

It gives the ACC the best opportunity to get into the 4 team playoffs and access bowls, and provides flexibility of scheduling. As the SEC has smartly done, you do this by winning more games not scheduling more conference games. Unless proven otherwise you want to the path of least resistance. That doesn’t mean you don’t want to schedule some tougher OOC games from time to time. That obviously builds credibility.

ACC Football Powers like Clemson and FSU already have worthy year end games with SEC rivals, plus they have shown the willingness to schedule strong OOC games. Clemson has played Georgia, Auburn and Alabama in recent years. The Seminoles have played Oklahoma, scheduled a series 2012-2013 with West Virginia before WVU backed out and have an upcoming game with Oklahoma St.

With the addition of Notre Dame rotating through the ACC teams once every 3 years, by averaging 5 games a year with ACC opponents, the ACC already has a built in OOC scheduling agreement.

As I said, losing certain conference matchups for long periods of time is a drawback. There is no question, but the best opportunity  for the ACC to get more bowl eligible teams and more wins is through the 8+1 setup.

A couple of other notes on this…

It’s clear now the ACC is listening to its football powers. Florida State and Clemson along with Duke as recently as 3 weeks ago appeared to be in minority pushing the 8 game format.  Certainly Monday, they swayed some votes. In addition, while probably not on the priority list, but I’m betting somewhere in the back of John Swofford’s mind Notre Dame is literally just 3 games short of being a full ACC member.

Don’t expect anything on that for a number of years, just remember that 8 conference games does make it easier for the Irish to one day join as a full member should that discussion ever occur."

 

ACC title-game format

 

"And really, that’s where the real changes need to come. It’s not that we need more of Clemson-FSU (or Louisville, which could certainly throw a monkey wrench into the status quo in the Atlantic). It’s that we need other teams, particularly in the Coastal, to step up their games.
As FSU and Clemson showed last year, what separates the ACC and SEC right now isn’t strength at the top, it’s the depth of quality. While the SEC opens every season with six or seven teams in competition for a conference title, the entire reason we’re having this discussion about the ACC’s championship game is because, too often, the same two teams (in the same division) are the prohibitive favorites.

Sure, Syracuse has a long road to the top this year. But until last year, only Virginia Tech and Georgia Tech had won the Coastal during the championship-game era, then suddenly Duke emerged. (The Atlantic has had four different champs.) In nine years of title games, North Carolina has yet to make an appearance. Miami has yet to make an appearance. In two of Georgia Tech’s three trips, it backed in with mediocre teams.

The solution to the ACC’s problems isn’t jury-rigging its title game. It’s ensuring that its other flagship programs are competing for the title game on an annual basis."