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ACC Title Game Caps Balanced Season

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By JOEY JOHNSTON | The Tampa Tribune

Published: December 5, 2008

Updated: 12/05/2008 03:36 pm

TAMPA - The nation's most competitive, most balanced and most unpredictable college-football conference will hold its championship game today at Raymond James Stadium.

Yes, it's the ACC.

Surprised? When the No. 18-ranked Boston College Eagles (9-3) and unranked Virginia Tech Hokies (8-4) kick off at 1 p.m., it will hardly make a ripple nationally. There are no Heisman Trophy candidates or BCS-title implications.

Good, but not great.

Any Given Saturday (or Thursday night).

That's the 2008 story for ACC football, which has a record-tying 10 teams (of 12) at bowl-eligible status (6-6 or better). Every team except Virginia and Duke finished 5-3 or 4-4 in league play, making the ACC the first Division I conference ever in which every team lost at least three league games.

"I think there's a bunch of teams that are very, very close,'' Virginia Tech coach Frank Beamer said. "Our league has a lot of good teams that were bunched in there, all about the same.''

It sounds like the consistency every conference covets.

In reality, it's a recipe for getting ignored. The nation's eyes will focus on Atlanta, where top-ranked Alabama (12-0) faces No. 2 Florida (11-1) for the SEC title and a probable spot in the BCS Championship Game.

No one questions the SEC's top-heavy power.

But the ACC thinks it has a case as the nation's best conference – from top to bottom.

And in a statistic of particular pride, the ACC finished 6-4 in head-to-head games against the SEC – a margin that was clinched last Saturday, when Georgia Tech upset Georgia, Clemson thumped South Carolina and Wake Forest downed Vanderbilt.

"I was proud of our conference [last Saturday],'' Beamer said.

Additionally, the ACC was 4-0 against Big 12 teams. Overall, the ACC was 37-11 (.771) in non-conference games, a league record.

Clearly, though, a conference's perception is shaped by national-championship contention. Since Florida State captured the 1999 national title, ACC teams have dropped eight consecutive BCS bowl games.

And this season, Clemson was supposed to contend, but lost to Alabama 34-10 in the opener and plummeted to a 3-4 start.

"From the very beginning, our league was pretty crazy this year,'' Eagles senior strong safety Paul Anderson said. "It came down to the last week before we even knew [which teams would advance to Tampa].''

For BC, an ACC title would be particularly satisfying. The Eagles were picked fourth in the ACC Atlantic Division and no outsider really disputed that, considering the loss of quarterback Matt Ryan, now an NFC Rookie of the Year contender with the Falcons.

"It's gratifying to not have to count on just one guy,'' said BC coach Jeff Jagodzinski, whose Eagles lost to Virginia Tech 30-16 in last season's ACC Championship Game at Jacksonville. "Matt Ryan was a real special player, but we've come together counting on everybody doing their thing. This is actually the best team chemistry I've ever been around.''

Virginia Tech, seeking its third ACC title in the last five seasons, can echo those thoughts.

"We had a young team with so many injuries and so many setbacks and [getting here in spite of that] has made the ride more enjoyable,'' Hokies senior defensive end Orion Martin said.

One more victory for BC or Virginia Tech, and that ride continues to the Orange Bowl.

Reporter Joey Johnston can be reached at (813) 259-7353.

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