Running 2011 Bowl Season Thread- Match-ups on Page 1

I've always felt those are somewhat misleading -- the Big East looks better than it really is because it always gets to play a team that's ranked in the lower half of the BCS. When they play one of the better teams (think Cincy-Florida '09), they get stomped. Conversely, many of the Big Ten's losses are in the national championship game or against one of the powerhouse teams in the country.

That said, the ACC has to stop blowing chunks.

 

Gotta give credit to the Big East for WVU's upsets over 2005 Georgia and 2007 Oklahoma.

 

Georgia was #7 going into the game and Oklahoma was #11. Both in the lower half of BCS teams.

 

What in the hell does Boston College have to look forward to? Talk about a athletic program in a major market that's an afterthought . . .

I haven't bothered to look. BC's men's hoops team doesn't travel to Duke or UNC this year, does it? If so, a running clock in the second half would be a good idea.

 

OK, I laughed out loud at that.

Personally, I think Swinney is way over his head at Clemson. And getting 70 hung on you in a bowl game is grounds for termination. Or at least a move to the sizzling portion of the hot seat. Clemson is a national punchline right now.

 

It's all relative. There are a lot of fan bases that don't have the expectation of postseason action every year. Grabbing a couple of unexpected wins, bringing in some good competition ... that's good for them.

Trust me, if I had big-time college sports in my backyard, I'd be psyched to make some games even if the hoops team was 15-18.

 

Swinney was an interim guy, right? I'd be interested to know how often those guys flame out when they're hired full-time.

 

Georgia had just dumptrucked #3 LSU in the SEC Championship Game, and the Sugar Bowl that year was played in Atlanta. I'd say that was pretty impressive.

 

That's your opinion and you can stick to it however long you like. It does not change the fact that it was another matchup of Big East vs. lower-tier BCS.

 

Eh. I can't consider a #7 SEC Champion to be "lower-tier BCS." USC was #7 going into their drop-kicking of Illinois in the '08 Rose Bowl.

 

There's no doubting that the ACC has been awful in big games. Taking a four-year sample size, the ACC has all of 13 wins against ranked non-conference opponents since 2008, with four of those wins coming in bowl games:

FLORIDA STATE
2010 -- beat #20 South Carolina, 26-17 (Chick-fil-A Bowl)
2009 -- beat #7 BYU, 54-28
2009 -- beat #16 West Virginia (Gator Bowl)

N.C. STATE
2010 -- beat #22 West Virginia, 23-7 (Champs Sports Bowl)
2008 -- beat #15 East Carolina, 30-24 (OT)

VIRGINIA TECH
2009 -- beat #19 Nebraska, 16-15
2008 -- beat #12 Cincinnati, 20-7 (Orange Bowl)

MIAMI
2011 -- beat #17 Ohio State, 27-6
2009 -- beat #8 Oklahoma, 21-20

CLEMSON
2011 -- beat #21 Auburn, 38-24

MARYLAND
2008 -- beat #23 California, 35-27

NORTH CAROLINA
2008 -- beat #24 Connecticut, 38-12

GEORGIA TECH
2008 -- beat #11 Georgia, 45-42

VIRGINIA
None

DUKE
None

BOSTON COLLEGE
None

WAKE FOREST
None

ACC teams schedule way too many FCS schools. There's no excuse for teams to be playing two FCS in a year, like N.C. State did this year with Liberty and South Alabama or like Clemson did a few years back with South Carolina State and The Citadel. The only way to get better is to play better competition, home games be damned. At least FSU, Miami and VT have scheduled up of late (this year notwithstanding for VT).

 

Well, that's an SEC standby, too. You can't swing a dead Rebel without hitting an FCS opponent.