For some off-season football reading, we want to look at the ACC’s 10 best Out of Conference wins of the 2020s. For the health of the ACC, the list needs to improve, but we did see some significant wins last year as the league took a step in the right direction.
For the previous decade, we ranked the ACC’s 50 biggest OOC wins of the 2010s.
They were some great wins there. That’s for sure. Let’s hope the rest of this decade starts approaching the last decade.
We just looked at games ranked 6-10, and we’re into the top 5
1. Florida State 24 LSU 23 – Septemeber 4, 2022
Back in 2012, Clemson defeated a very good LSU team in the Chick-Fila Bowl to set the foundation for their dynastic run in the mid to late 2010s. Florida State’s 2022 win over LSU may do the same for the Noles. Florida State’s 24 – 23 over LSU set the stage for Florida State’s first 10-win top 15 season since 2016. While unranked at the time, LSU moved as high as #6 in the country and on the edge of the playoff discussion. They ended up SEC West champion and in the top 20. Yep, Florida State beat one of the best teams the SEC had to offer in 2022.
2. Pittsburgh 37 #18 UCLA 35 –December 30, 2022
Pittsburgh’s growth as a program under Pat Narduzzi is evident in so many ways – NFL draft picks, a 2021 ACC Title, and noteworthy OOC wins. Two of the three biggest ACC OOC wins so far this decade have been by the Panthers. The 37-35 win over a top 20 ranked UCLA team was a stirring Pitt victory that had Narduzzi’s team overcoming a double-digit 2nd half deficit. Pitt also won this game down several players. It finished off a 9 win a top 25 season for Pittsburgh as won their final 5 games.
3. Pittsburgh 41 Tennessee 34 – September 11, 2021
When Pittsburgh went down to Knoxville and defeated Tennessee 41-34, it raised a lot of eyebrows. There haven’t been many ACC wins over SEC teams in recent years, especially on the road besides Clemson, and this game set in motion what would be possible for the Panthers for the rest of the season. They went on to win 11 games and the ACC Title. Tennessee wasn’t great, but they were a decent 7-6 (4-4) team with a win over Kentucky and near wins over Ole Miss and Purdue.
4. NC State 15 #21 Liberty 14 – November 21, 2020
This was the one win by an ACC team that was a legitimately strong OOC win in 2020, and it was pulled off by NC State. Liberty finished the year 10-1 with a final ranking in the top 25 of both major polls and had wins over Syracuse, Virginia Tech, and a top 15 Coastal Carolina team. It was a stellar defensive performance by the Wolfpack while playing their backup QB Baily Hockman. This was a quality win that NC State fans can take pride in.
5. Louisville 24 Cincinnati 7 – December 17, 2022
The ACC desperately needed a respectable bowl season in 2022. While you can debate the value of bowl wins with all the opt-outs these days, winning them carries some relative weight, and losing them results in criticism for a conference. Louisville’s 24 – 7 over Cincinnati set the tone for the ACC to have their first winning bowl season since 2018. The win gave Louisville a solid 8-win 2022. The Bearcats were 14 points from being undefeated after a 9-3 regular season where they spent a good chunk of it in the top 25. It was a quality Cincinnati squad that Louisville beat in the Fenway Bowl.
Make sure you follow the All Sports Discussion Twitter account at @AllSportsDACC and please like our Facebook Page
Leave a Reply