ACC Needs To Root for a Virginia Tech vs. Florida State Championship Game

The 2010 season started with high expectations of the ACC. Five teams started the year in the top 25 and then it dwindled to one with Florida State earning the No. 16 spot in Week 7. There are now three respectable teams in the BCS top 25: Virginia Tech, Miami and Florida State.

But with Virginia Tech and Miami playing this weekend, one of the teams will likely drop completely out of the standings, especially since Jacory Harris won’t be starting for the Hurricanes. The only other team with a realistic chance of getting back into the top 25 is N.C. State and they lost to ECU, have to beat a UNC team that refuses to quit and then beat a Maryland team that has been one of the surprise teams in the country.

The critics of the ACC simply will not let the Hokies’ loss to JMU go, and rightly so, so the reputation will be tarnished for the remainder of the year regardless but there is room for improvement. The conference still has to be better than the Big East. That improvement starts this Saturday with a Virginia Tech win over Miami and a Florida State win over Maryland.

For the second straight year, The U has been hailed as back by the pundits. No, it’s not, and the rest of the country finally seems to recognize that fact.  They’ll watch the Hurricanes play but after getting demolished by Florida State, the likely Atlantic division winner and consequent opponent in the ACC championship game, they know not to expect much this year.

Most people seem to have come to terms with the fact that the loss to JMU was a hangover and/or fluke from the Boise State loss and have come a long way from that game, especially defensively.

Bud Foster may not have found an answer to Paul Johnson’s triple option—yet—but the new defensive line and linebackers have really gelled and shown that they can play a full game of football. The first quarter still seems sluggish but, again, improvement will be taken where it can be found this year.

Russell Wilson and N.C. State can replace the No. 23 Hurricanes in the BCS but the ACC needs in a team in the top 15. It needs one in the top five consistently to gain national respect but that’s just not going to happen this year. Similarly, the ACC championship game becomes meaningless BCS-wise—it already is nationally—unless Florida State can win out.

The Seminoles have had a good season with the only real bruise coming against Oklahoma. They lost two conference games in heartbreaking fashion to N.C. State and UNC that they really should have won. Pollsters have enough respect for the program as a whole to give credit where credit is due and the same can be said about the Florida Gators.

Maryland is 7-3, somehow, and a win on the road will boost computer rankings and a win over Florida will resonant with pollsters regardless of their record. With Virginia Tech and Florida State winning out, the ACC could put two top-20 teams in their championship game. Given the conference outlook a few short weeks ago, this is fantastic news.

That said, the topsy-turvy ACC needs to focus on winning its winnable games one week at a time. The Hokies may not even be able to get by a still very talented Miami team who will be looking for revenge after an embarrassing loss in Blacksburg last year. It’s a stretch to even predict a championship game given the ACC’s recent history of upsets. Maryland would fit the status quo for the conference if they reached the championship game.

But for the sake of the league's integrity and national respect come bowl season, Virginia Tech and Florida State need to represent the ACC in the ACC championship game.