Good morning. We continue our Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) football panel today. Specifically, our panelists will provide commentary on 2023 ACC football. We also asked them which team would win the 2023 Football Championship Subdivision title. Here is who is joining us today:
- Ethan Moore – Ethan Moore of Louisville Sports Live is here. You can follow Ethan on Twitter at @_EthanMoore and Louisville Sports Live at @LvilleSprtsLive. Ethan and and his colleague, Tayler Lynch (you can follow Tayler on Twitter at @TaylerLynch) have a radio show dedicated to UofL sports on 93.9 FM the Ville (their twitter account is @939TheVille, which is powered by ESPN) every Wednesday night at 6:00 PM EST.
- Tim Thomas (@TimThomasTLP) is the Editor/Founder of The Tech Lunch Pail (@TechLunchPailD) covering Virginia Tech sports, recruiting, and more at techlunchpail.com as well as being a VT football pregame analyst for ESPN Blacksburg. He is also a 2018 grad of Virginia Tech with a degree in civil engineering.
- Dan Caro is the owner of TreadmillHorse.com, a Virginia Tech blog that focuses on Hokies football and men’s basketball. You can follow Dan on Twitter at @Treadmillhorse.
- Sam Jessee (@SamOfSaturday) is a member of the team over at the Virginia Tech athletics blog, the Sons of Saturday. He is the Host of the “Locks of Saturday” podcast and a Virginia Tech alum
- Ben Byrd (@DukeFBCoverage) is the owner and operator of bullcitycoordinators.com – it’s a comprehensive Duke Athletics website and podcast that covers the good, bad and ugly of Duke football.
And, once again, here we go!
Open Microphone (a free opportunity to write anything within reason regarding ACC football, realignment, or even college sports media conglomerates):
Matthew: Since everyone is talking about realignment, I’ll talk about a dark horse favorite to get to the ACC title game, NC State. NC State is my dark horse favorite to get to the ACC title game. Yes, I’m dead serious about that. They have an outstanding defense – and finally after several years, I actually think that Dave Doeren is going to open up his offense and allow his quarterback to be a gunslinger, as they say. I find it weird that I’m saying that – but coaches have to adjust to new situations – and when you have a quarterback that can throw the football around the field, like Brennan Armstrong, you have to take your shots in the air. I think the NC State wide receivers will like playing in the new offense, too.
Jeff: I have one thought on realignment before looking at the season. If there’s money to be made even if the short-term then do it. The ACC needs an infusion of cash, any amount of cash. Geography and student athletes considerations – yea that went out of the window a long time ago, and it is not coming back anytime soon. Regarding the season, the ACC made some football improvements last year. It needs to continue this year. Games like FSU/LSU, Clemson/Notre Dame, North Carolina/South Carolina, Miami/Texas A&M – the ACC needs to go at least 2-2 here. There are several other opportunities for the ACC to move their football forward this year, and they need to take advantage of it. You won’t win them all, but you need to win your fair share. The ACC’s out of conference football perception for 2023 could be defined by mid-September, the conference programs can’t blow it.
Ethan: The ACC will have a better season collectively than the national pundits believe. If Jim Phillips can get the votes for expansion, it would be the first move that could solidify his leadership in terms of him putting his stamp on the conference.
Dan: The best thing for the ACC to do regarding conference realignment is to wait. They’ve already missed the boat on being proactive. Now they need to let things shake out. Getting out of the GOR is unlikely for any ACC school anytime soon. And if a school attempts it, it will be an expensive endeavor that the ACC is in a good position to benefit from. There is a good chance that the ACC will remain close to its current form until 2036, so it’s best to get comfortable with that idea for a while.
Sam: The ACC is in a really awkward spot. On one hand, you have a (relatively) regional conference filled with historic rivals and “like-minded institutions”. On the other hand you’re super poor. The only real solution for the ACC now is to have its big time football programs step up. Looking at you, Virginia Tech, Miami, and NC State. Also some stability in Louisville makes that a really fun program. Georgia Tech just needs to recruit greater-Atlanta and they’ll make bowl games. And that’s not even mentioning the locomotive that Narduzzi has engineered at Pittsburgh.
Virginia Tech and Miami have massive years ahead in 2023, and in some way I think those two programs will dictate whether the ACC can be a power football conference in the future or not. I’m not saying the ACC can compete with the BIG10 and SEC (it can’t), but the idea that the conference is dead just doesn’t make a lot of sense, especially if those two programs get back to where they should be. Simply put, the football schools in the ACC just need to be better at football.
Ben: Take some time to read up on the Grant of Rights. Expansion should calm down for a few years, but get ready for something crazy to happen as we get closer to the end of the decade. That’s when the TV deals for the major conferences, and the AAC, start expiring. If restructuring will continue, it will happen then. (P.S. The Mtn. West Conference deal runs out soon. Keep tabs on that.)
Tim: It seems like everybody wants to ACC to die or at least that’s the media talking point that is being fed to fans. The fact is that the ACC remains better than the Big 12 and an ACC that I’d able to be close enough financially to stay up with the SEC and Big 10 is the best for everyone including tantrum-throwing FSU. There’s more upward mobility and ceiling for schools like VT in the ACC than in the SEC and B1G where there are way more big brands. Clemson, FSU, Miami, VT are the clear top football brands and have clearer paths to continued or restored national relevance in the ACC than say in the SEC or B1G. Yes, the money is a concern but you just need to hold on. Also, this is way better for fans who can actually travel pretty easily to many games especially in VA and the Carolinas. It’s a distinguishing factor from what the other Power conferences have become.
Of course, the presidents could screw that up if they add the Bay Area schools and SMU. Tim Sands, the AAU status you want isn’t worth trying to bribe Stanford and Cal with an ACC lifeboat. I feel bad for those schools, but don’t damage one of the few distinguishing things that the ACC still has
Bonus Pick – Who wins the 2023 FCS National Title?
Matthew: South Dakota State is the best team in the country – and has everyone back – the Jacks are my repeat title winner.
Jeff: South Dakota State
Ethan: North Dakota State
Dan: I can’t pick JMU anymore? I’m going with NDSU. They are the Alabama of the FCS and a safe bet to win every year.
Sam: South Dakota State
Ben: One of the remaining PAC-4 teams. 😉
Tim: I probably should go with South Dakota State here, but I want to be bold so I’m gonna go with William & Mary. Innovative offense with their biggest stars back on both sides of the ball. Mike London has another FCS power and OC Christian Taylor could be an under-the-radar name to know for OC searches at the P5 (sadly soon to be P4) level this offseason.
Thanks again to our panelists!
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