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 Wake Forest, Louisville, and NC State in this article.
Best Major Sports Moments of last 5 years.
Georgia Tech, Virginia, UNC | Duke, Pittsburgh, Miami | Syracuse, Clemson, and Virginia Tech | Florida State, Boston College, Notre Dame
Wake Forest
1. Military Bowl win over Temple 2016
Wake Forest’s bowl win over Temple was the culmination of a 7-6 season for the Deacs that was far better than anyone expected. This win was part of the conference’s record tying 9 bowl wins.
2. NCAA Tournament appearance in 2016
The return of Wake Forest basketball came in 2016 by reaching the NCAA for the first time since 2010. Danny Manning continues to look like a very solid coaching hire.
3. Wake Forest 33 Indiana 28 – September 24, 2016
Wake Forest going on the road and beating Indiana proved that Deacs could reach their first bowl game since 2011. This game opened eyes that it could be a comeback season for Wake Forest.
Louisville
1. Lamar Jackson with the Heisman Trophy 2016
Lamar Jackson put up video game type numbers for most of the 2016 season. He was the the ACC’s second Heisman Trophy winner since 2013.
2. Elite 8 2015
The ACC had 3 teams in the Elite 8 and Louisville was one of them after wins over UC Irvine, Northern Iowa, and NC State.
3. Louisville 27 Texas A&M 21 – December 30, 2015
This was Louisville QB Lamar Jackson’s coming out party. In a 27 – 21 over Texas A&M in the Music City Bowl, Jackson had over 450 yards of offense and accounted for 4 touchdowns. It put Jackson on the national map, and set the stage for his Heisman Trophy season in 2016.
NC State
1. Sweet 16 2015
NC State reached the Sweet in 2015, as part of a fantastic NCAA tournament for the ACC. NC State had to knock off #1 Seed Villanova in the round of 32. It was one the biggest upsets of the 2015 NCAA tournament.
2. College World Series 2013
2013 was arguably the best baseball season in NC State history. They made the CWS for the first time since 1968, and set a school record for winning 50 games.
3. Independence Bowl win over Vanderbilt 2016
One of the most dominanting wins of bowl season 2016 came with NC State’s 41-17 win over Vanderbilt. This was one of the ACC’s 9 bowl wins.
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