Coaches of ACC football are keen to change the perception of the conference, saying, “There’s a lot of disrespect.” Florida’s Amelia Island — The unbeaten Florida State football team saw its name listed as No. 5 in the final College Football Playoff rankings five months ago. And the ACC rivals of the Seminoles are still stinging from the rejection.
After two days of the league’s spring meetings, Wake Forest coach Dave Clawson remarked, “It’s a pretty fresh memory.”
There is no need for the conference to fear that history would exactly repeat itself because an unbeaten ACC champion will definitely qualify for the newly expanded 12-team CFP, which kicks off this autumn. The selection committee didn’t think the undefeated Seminoles were more worthy of a spot than two teams (Texas and Alabama), both of whom had losses on their record, therefore ACC coaches are concerned about the at-large slots.
Would the committee be willing to exclude an ACC at-large team with two losses in favor of an SEC team with three losses if it were willing to do that? Or a Big Ten team with three losses?
To put it briefly, the ACC feels that it has a perception issue.
A school that should be ranked 10th or 11th should not be placed 13th, according to Clawson. It’s not the play’s caliber, in my opinion. Sometimes, I believe, it’s the market’s perception. Many of us who have had successful seasons have watched teams with inferior records be rated higher than us. Why is it the case?
By giving Stanford, Cal, and SMU a percentage of the money they bring in from their addition to the conference without giving them their entire share of the media rights revenue, the ACC hopes to encourage investment in football. Athletic departments will receive financial rewards for meeting targets, like
Athletic directors should use this information to hire more qualified coaches, pay skilled assistant coaches more to keep them on staff, and maintain the kinds of facilities required to train exceptional athletes for the highest levels of competition. After serving as Oregon’s head coach for four years, Mario Cristobal, who was hired by Miami in 2021, thinks the ACC is in a similar situation to the much-maligned Pac-12 back then.
“We brought on a number of coaches who really got to work putting their plans together, and you could tell they were going to be big in ’20, ’21, and ’22,” added Cristobal. “I think the ACC is starting to have it, and some excellent days are ahead. There has been an improvement in recruitment. Programs for NIL exist. Facilities are being improved. Yes, you would prefer more exposure. I’m not sure what that would look like – a talking head for the actual conference?
“Make the most of the possibilities when they present themselves. Many ailments can be cured by winning.
Despite winning every game, Florida State was still eliminated from the CFP. Despite the fact that ACC teams defeated SEC teams 6-4 during the regular season, the national narrative continued to focus on how much superior the SEC is over the ACC.
Seminoles coach Mike Norvell stated, “It still comes down to an outside group that’s making the ranking and (determines) how teams are positioned.” “We have a job to do and respect is something that needs to be earned, but it’s also about making sure that the story gets told.”
It’s simple to see how the story might develop for the next campaign, given how difficult the SEC schedules appear to be with Oklahoma and Texas included, or how the Big Ten schedule now includes Oregon, Washington, USC, and UCLA. Experts and possibly even members of the selection committee might contend that a Big Ten or SEC team that makes it through such a difficult schedule, even with a few losses, is more worthy of one of the last 12 berths than, for example, a Clemson team that finished with two losses despite playing an eight-game ACC schedule.
There’s a lot of disrespect, in my opinion,” Pitt coach Pat Narduzzi stated. We’re having an incredible conference. You know, before I came here, I spent eight years in the Big Ten. I consider the caliber of ACC football that we participate in. Simply said, I don’t think it receives the respect it merits. Exactly.
As many teams in the league as possible should aim to achieve the 10-win mark, according to Clawson, who believes that an at-large 10-2 ACC club should always be considered for a CFP berth. Therefore, he is pushing for ACC teams to remove their away games against Group of 5 teams from their schedules going forward because he thinks those matches just provide possibilities to lose and offer
virtually little benefit. Furthermore, he believes that other big conference institutions wouldn’t schedule games in that manner.
The public’s impression is not improved by the fact that the ACC’s new deal with the CFP calls for a lesser revenue share from the latter. The Athletic has received information from sources indicating that the new revenue split will be as follows: the Big Ten and SEC will split over 29 percent annually (more than $21 million per school), the ACC will split 17 percent ($13 million each), the Big 12 will split 15 percent ($12 million each), and the Group of Five conferences will split 9 percent (roughly $1.8 million per school). The Football Championship Subdivision and independents receive the remaining funds, which includes more than $12 million for Notre Dame. For entering the CFP profession, independent contractors are the only ones eligible for an additional performance bonus. An extra $6 would be given to Notre Dame.
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