Between blowouts and upsets, the ACC has simply looked overmatched against fellow FBS competition throughout the season. Which schools have most cruelly toyed with the emotions of fans, students and alumni? Let’s take a look.
- Virginia Tech The Hokies opened against Boise State in what was one of the most eagerly anticipated week 1 games of the year. Virginia Tech came out flat, but by game’s end looked every bit a serious conference title contender and major player on the national scene, even in defeat. Rallying back from a 17-0 deficit, the Hokies fell just short losing 33-30. Unfortunately, losing to a seemingly legit Broncos team wasn’t the crushing blow that earned the Hokies the 1 spot, rather their second loss to James Madison University. Sure, VT was playing with a shortened week and the weather was bad, but there’s still no excuse for losing to a Football Championship Subdivision squad. The Hokies can kiss any National Championship hopes thanks to their 0-2 start, despite rallying back to win their next 5 straight. The win over a ranked NC State team in early October was certainly a boost of confidence for the Hokie club, but by the traditional standards of excellence expected from a Beamer team, this season ended earlier.
- Georgia Tech QB Josh Nesbitt entered the season as a long shot Heisman contender, a race he quickly exited with an abysmal showing in only the second game of the season Kansas. This wasn’t the Jayhawks team that knocked off Virginia Tech in the 2008 Orange Bowl (though without Texas and Oklahoma on the schedule it’s debatable whether that team was even BCS worthy). It wasn’t so much that the Jayhawks rose the occasion, more like the Yellow Jackets sunk to KU’s lowly level. So shocked were Kansas fans to actually win the game, especially a week after falling to mighty North Dakota State, fans actually stormed the field. In fact, losing to the 2010 Kansas Jayhawks might be more embarrassing than Virginia Tech’s aforementioned James Madison loss. Excuse us if we are still scarred by just one game as the Jackets bounced back nicely, winning the other “should-win” games on the schedule, but this GT team is inconsistent at best and though they will be bowl eligible, won’t make much of a splash.
- Miami One of these days Randy Shannon is going to have to show something besides recruiting prowess. It looked like the Hurricanes were well on their way to re-establishing the Miami name after keeping it respectable against Ohio State and winning decisive games on the road, but the Seminoles exposed them for who they really were in their annual meeting. Not that the Seminoles are a true juggernaut in their own right, suffering a lashing of their own at the hands of Oklahoma in early season play. The 2010 season does not have a true national title contender in the ACC, but Miami broke the hearts of true ACC fans, tempting with promise yet once again failing to deliver.