Recently we had an article discussing how the ACC was in the midst of a golden age for it’s major sports. That piece got me thinking in those major sports – football, baseball, basketball (men’s and women’s) what were the 3 biggest moments for each ACC school the last 5 years? We’re going to to take three ACC Schools at time, as we go through all 14 including Notre Dame.
I’m going to stay away from in-conference moments, because I think it’s what you do OOC that enhances your teams and conference national perception, and we’re only going to include accomplishments since a school was a member of the ACC. We’ll look at Syracuse, Clemson, and Virginia Tech in this article.
Best Major Sports Moments of last 5 years.
Georgia Tech, Virginia, UNC | Duke, Pittsburgh, Miami | Wake Forest, Louisville, NC State | Florida State, Boston College, Notre Dame
Syracuse
1. Men’s Final 4 2016
You keep seeing references to the ACC’s record setting 2016 NCAA tournament, and Syracuse was a big part of that. Syracuse entered the tournament a 10 seed, and worked themselves all the way to the Final 4, where they finally went down to North Carolina.
2. Womens’ Final 4 2016
The Syracuse women matched the men by reaching the Final 4. They went one step further than the men by getting to the National Title game, where they lost to Connecticut. It was a great year for Syracuse basketball – men’s and women’s.
3. Syracuse Bowl win 2013
There have been few highlights for Syracuse football in recent years, but in 2013 there was one. The Orange beat Minnesota in the Texas Bowl to complete a 7-6 season.
Clemson
1. Football National Title 2016
Clemson knocked off an Alabama team, that some thought might be one of the best college football teams of the last 20 years to win the National Title. The Tiger title was the crowning achievement of spectacular bowl season for the ACC.
#2 Clemson 31 #3 Ohio State 0 – December 31, 2016
Before Clemson could get to the National Title game against Alabama in 2016, the Tigers faced Urban Meyer and Ohio State. The Tigers only gave Meyer the worst defeat of his career, and proved that Clemson was capable of winning the national title – which they ended up doing.
3. #15 Clemson 25 #9 LSU 24 – December 31, 2012
This is the game that started Clemson’s and the ACC’s football resurgence. This was a LSU team some felt was capable of playing for a national title, and the Tigers used a 4th quarter comeback to beat them. It was the game that the wheels in motion to Clemson becoming a national football power.
Virginia Tech
1. Virginia Tech 35 #8 Ohio State 21 – September 6, 2014
Ohio State won the national title in 2014, but they couldn’t beat Virginia Tech at home. It was a master piece of a defensive gameplan by Bud Foster and one of the biggest non-conference wins for any ACC team in the decade.
2. #16 Virginia Tech 35 Arkansas 24 – December 29, 2016
Virginia Tech had an epic comeback in this game. Down 24-0 at the half, the Hokies came back to win the Belk Bowl against Arkansas and finish with a 10 win season.
3. NCAA Basketball Tournament 2017
Virginia Tech didn’t a game in the NCAA Tournament, but making it for the first time in decade was a huge accomplishment under head coach Buzz Williams.
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