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Reality Bites: ACC still outside looking in
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William & Mary celebrates an interception return for a touchdown against Virginia.
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Published: September 7, 2009
When Commissioner John Swofford presents the BCS title trophy next January , he won't hand off the crystal football to one of his ACC teams unless the college world turns upside down.
That was a strong possibility before the opening kickoff, since the ACC hasn't sent anyone to the so-called championship game since the 1999 season. It became a virtual certainty late Saturday night as Alabama rang up 18 points in six fourth-quarter minutes and beat Virginia Tech 34-24.
Boise State and Brigham Young, teams outside the BCS's six-league fraternal circle, surged ahead of the ACC the old-fashioned way. They beat somebody. Boise unhinged Oregon but failed to duck a mad runner's postgame punch. BYU decked Heisman winner Sam Bradford and contender Oklahoma.
Living on the edge of elite
Virginia Tech lost the BCS showdown to Florida State 10 years ago, before fleeing the Big East for the ACC. Swofford, the BCS coordinator this season, expected greater achievements from his 12-team lineup. Instead, the ACC has become a lesser force near the top of the BCS heap.
While Florida State and Miami struggle to regain traction, the Hokies keep returning to the fringe of elite status. With two straight ACC titles under their maroon belts and a formidable defense, Virginia Tech arrived on the 2009 stage as the No. 7 team in the AP poll.
A contender can rise or fall from the seventh rung. The schedule provided an immediate shot for social climbers: the opener against preseason No. 5 Alabama and the third game against resurgent Nebraska.
Reality delivered another fall.
ACC's reputation takes hit
Coach Frank Beamer has a vacant, well-marked space in the Tech trophy room for the big prize that has eluded his resilient program. The space will gather dust another year. BCS champions often lose a game somewhere along the way, but the ACC's frayed reputation argues against a potential Tech rally in the polls or the computer rankings.
So does reality. The Hokies have played 26 games against teams ranked in the top five, and they have lost 25. The Hokies have played 12 games against Alabama, and they have lost 11.
Other patterns persist. Virginia Tech thrives on Beamer's mastery of the kicking game and assistant Bud Foster's passionate defense. Both elements worked for a long time against haughty Alabama, which rescued Tech with penalties and too many passes. A 98-yard kickoff return put the Hokies ahead early, and they still led 17-16 entering the fourth quarter.
But Alabama's punishing blockers softened the Tech defense and enabled the Crimson Tide to control the ball 37 of the 60 minutes. Tailback Mark Ingram rushed for 150 yards and scored the clinching touchdown on a pass reception.
More than anything, though, Tech couldn't mount a sustained push on offense, gaining 155 yards. Alabama clipped off 180 yards in the fourth quarter alone and 498 overall.
The Hokies revived the lament of many significant losses over the past decade and reflected the prevailing ACC profile: decent defense, weak offense.
Some folks will pile the blame on quarterback Tyrod Taylor, a darting runner and erratic passer who completed 9 of 20, but that's oversimplifying things. The swarming Tide flushed him out of the pocket and closed quickly enough to hurry his throws. He was sacked five times.
"That team on the other side, I think they're about as good as it gets," Beamer said at his news conference.
The ACC obviously isn't as good as college football gets. On the opening weekend, the league managed four wins against weak competition: North Carolina over The Citadel 40-6, Boston College over Northeastern 54-0, Clemson over Middle Tennessee State 37-14 and Georgia Tech over Jacksonville State 37-17.
When the going got tougher, the ACC wilted.
Richmond, the defending champions from the NCAA's second level, blocked Duke's first punt for a touchdown and won 24-16 with 33,011 fans watching, the Blue Devils' largest home crowd since 2001.
Wake Forest drew its smallest home-opener crowd (27,905) since 2005 and lost to Baylor 24-21. The Deacons' restocked defense couldn't suppress quarterback Robert Griffin or runner Jay Finley, and Baylor intercepted three Riley Skinner passes.
No. 12 California pummeled Maryland. Coach Ralph Friedgen told reporters: "I don't like getting beat 52-13, but what am I going to do? I have a young team. I have to hang with them."
Virginia fans, a grumpy bunch for several seasons, might hang Coach Al Groh in effigy. William & Mary, using a quarterback from just outside Charlottesville, capitalized on seven turnovers and won 26-14, its first breakthrough against a BCS team in 11 years. The Cavaliers had not lost to a lower-division team since 1986.
N.C. State's Toney Baker fumbled on the first run of the first game Thursday night. South Carolina converted for the only touchdown in a 7-3 grinder that reminded some distant viewers why they don't savor ACC football.
Virginia Tech might roar back. Carolina, Georgia Tech, Clemson and the Miami-FSU winner tonight could move up the poll ladder in the weeks ahead. But a national contender? Don't bet the ranch. Don't even bet that new bottle of ranch dressing in the cabinet.
The party just started, and somehow the party seems almost over.
■ Lenox Rawlings can be reached at lrawlings@wsjournal.com.
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