The college football season has concluded for the ACC in 2023 with the Georgia Bulldogs 63 – 3 win over Florida State’s JV squad.
When you look at the season there was good, bad, and ugly.
Let’s check it out.
The Good
Florida State’s 13-0 season was a special one in Tallahassee. It gave the ACC a playoff-caliber team for the first time in 3 years. Jordan Travis was a Heisman candidate until his untimely injury late in the year.
Georgia Tech and Virginia Tech are turning the corner. These two programs spent a lot of time in the upper echelon of the ACC for several years. Recently they have fallen off the ACC radar, but after two impressive bowl wins and a couple of 7-6 seasons, both seem ready to take another step forward in 2024. These are two teams to watch for next year with their talented returning quarterbacks – Georgia Tech’s Haynes King and Virginia Tech’s Kyron Drones.
The ACC went 11-9 against the SEC and Big10. That’s always notable because true football observers will recognize that a little bit of football can be played in the ACC. Normally you change the narrative by winning games, but we’ll talk about that in the moment.
NC State’s Payton Wilson was named the Butkus Award Winner as the country’s best linebacker.
The Bad
For years football “experts” told us to win games and the ACC narrative will change. ACC football teams won games. They went 11-9 against the SEC and Big 10. Even before the bowl season when the matchups were more representative, it was a 10-7 record. The results were completely ignored in favor of stadium size and recruiting rankings. We learned in 2023 results don’t matter.
Clemson started the year in the top 10 and sat 4-4 after 8 games. For a program with the pedigree of Clemson, it marked the true end of the dynasty. To their credit they won their final 5 games to salvage a 9-4 season, but that 4-4 start was a nightmare for Dabo Swinney and his Tigers.
The Ugly
The Florida State playoff snub delegitimized the playoffs. Weeks after the decision, it was still the wrong one. We saw several backup QBs play well in their bowl games and lead their team to victory. Florida State never got that chance they not only deserved but earned.
How Louisville and UNC finished the season left a stain on the season. Louisville lost their final 3 games. These were to a mediocre Kentucky team, an FSU team with their 3rd string QB, and a USC Team without Caleb Williams. They won 10 games and made the ACC Championship, but it left a lot of room for growth. UNC was even worse. At 6-0, they lost 5 of their final 7 games with a future first-rounder playing quarterback. Yet again UNC had a special season going only to see it fall apart.
With the ongoing litigation of Florida State, will 2024 be the last full year of ACC football and it athletics?
I’m a heavy lean that 2024 won’t be the last one, but tune your TV to Court TV to find out.
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