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The ACC Question of the week is back with our esteemed friend and college football writer @MattZemek, Editor at @TrojansWire .
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Which is the second-best team in the ACC? I have asked that question to myself and on social media. This is a situation in which the answer is simultaneously obvious and yet not at all convincing — obvious in the sense that one answer makes more sense than others, but unconvincing in that the team hasn’t truly established a high standard.
Before revealing the answer, let me eliminate all the alternatives:
It can’t be North Carolina after the Tar Heels allowed 45 points to Virginia Tech and then lost to a Florida State team which subsequently got bombed by Louisville.
It can’t be Virginia Tech after the Hokies’ multiple losses.
It can’t be Miami after the blowout loss to Clemson and then a very shaky and low-scoring performance against a Virginia team which is losing lots of bodies in the secondary, particularly at safety.
North Carolina State had a case to make before the crushing injury to Devin Leary at quarterback.
Wake Forest is overachieving but still did lose to N.C. State.
It has to be Notre Dame. The Fighting Irish haven’t lost yet. They improved their passing game and their offense against Pittsburgh. They have a stronger defensive front than any non-Clemson team in the league. Of course you would say Notre Dame if asked to give the second-best team in the ACC.
Again, the answer IS obvious… but it isn’t convincing.
Are you convinced Notre Dame is an elite team after an ordinary offensive performance at home against Duke, and a below-average display at home against Louisville? Are you convinced Notre Dame would absolutely, certainly, handle North Carolina if the two teams played? What about D’Eriq King and Miami?
I do think the battle for second place in the ACC has become clearer in one specific sense: Only three teams can legitimately lay claim to that distinction. It’s a three-way battle among UNC, Miami, and Notre Dame. Injuries or other pronounced flaws have knocked the other 11 schools out of the running. So, at least we have that point of clarity.
Among the Tar Heels, Canes and Irish, however? It’s an open question, especially when you realize that Notre Dame beat Pitt on a day when Kenny Pickett was unable to play quarterback for the Panthers.
The precise challenge Notre Dame needs is an opponent with a highly formidable quarterback. If Notre Dame can shut down an offense with a feared signal-caller, that will address most (not all, but most) of the doubts one might harbor about this team.
Clemson is its own beast on Nov. 7. The Irish won’t merely be playing Trevor Lawrence in a few weeks; they’ll face the ACC’s dynastic powerhouse, a complete team up and down the roster.
We’ll have a better sense of which team is second-best in the ACC not on Nov. 7, but on Nov. 27, when Notre Dame and North Carolina meet. Sam Howell against the Notre Dame defense? That’s a heavyweight clash. Moreover, both teams will have had more time to settle into the season, reducing the “it’s a pandemic” thought process as an explanation for an outcome; early-season games have undeniably been shaped to some degree (the question is how much) by an offseason unlike any other.
Which is the second-best team in the ACC right now? It simultaneously has to be Notre Dame… and no team at all. A more convincing answer to this question will be given later in the season. Now? The Irish are a placeholder more than anything else.
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