College Football History: Best ACC-Big Ten Battles of the 21st Century

Most college football games are played between conference foes.

Is that a bad thing? Absolutely not! It's great to see two programs fighting for supremacy of a shared region. It's cool to have matchups that are repeated annually so that bragging rights must be redeemed every fall.

However, the non-conference battles are needed to unify the FBS. Big-name programs must leave their comfort zone eventually if they hope to be taken seriously on a national level, and it's refreshing to watch unaffiliated teams duke it out, whether in a September opener or a January BCS bowl game.

The Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) and Big Ten Conference usually clash several times per season, often resulting in competitive and compelling action.

If Saturday's OSU-Miami game is as exciting as any of these recent events, I'll be satisfied.

Minnesota Golden Gophers vs. North Carolina State Wolfpack (December 28, 2000)

As you might imagine, there wasn't much anticipation around the country for the 2000 MicronPC.com Bowl. The competing teams—Minnesota (6-5) finished 6th in the Big Ten, NC State (7-4) was 5th in the ACC—were barely bowl eligible. The Golden Gophers, in fact, entered Pro Player Stadium having lost three of their last four!

Surprisingly, though, the 28,359 who bought tickets and those few who watched on television were treated to an excellent experience. Minnesota took a 21-point lead into the 2nd quarter thanks to a couple rushing touchdowns from Tellis Redmon. They soon added on a field goal to make the score 24-0!

But, with future NFL Pro Bowler Phillip Rivers coordinating the Wolfpack's attack, the game was far from over. He drove NC State down the field before halftime for a score and 2-point conversion. They scored 17 more in the 3rd quarter to take the lead.

Finally, inside of two minutes to go, Minnesota's Travis Cole fumbled the ball deep in Golden Gopher territory, and the turnover would lead to a decisive touchdown. Final score: North Carolina State 38, Minnesota 30. The freshman Rivers would be named MVP. 

Wake Forest Demon Deacons vs. Purdue Boilermakers (Sept. 21, 2002)

This game had a very different atmosphere: earlier in the season, in the heart of "Big Ten country," and with far more folks in attendance. Similarly, though, it featured a future pro passer--Purdue's Kyle Orton.

The two programs played pretty evenly despite opposing offensive philosophies; Wake Forest was reliant on its powerful ground game, made successful by running backs Chris Barclay and Tarence Williams, and the Boilermakers put all faith in their sophomore quarterback.

Special teams wound up making the difference. Purdue out-gained the Demon Deacons by more than 100 yards, but they embarrassingly missed three field goals.

As expected, Orton had 3 TDs and Wake Forest rushed on 58 of 80 snaps. The ACC representative came out on top again, 24-21.

Ohio State Buckeyes vs. North Carolina State Wolfpack (Sept. 18, 2004)

The trend ended in 2004, this time with the Big Ten's team occupying the visitor's locker room.

Although on the road, the 7th-ranked Buckeyes were heavily favored after coming off terrific seasons in 2002 and 2003. They had lost some personnel, however, and their new QB Justin Zwick was asked only to manage the offense, not lead it.

Zwick played conservatively, attempting only short passes to his young receiving corps, which included the New York Jets' Santonio Holmes.

Most importantly, he made sure that OSU won the turnover battle, and they did by a wide margin, forcing five giveaways and fumbling the ball just once! This allowed them to start drives in great field position, so even without big plays, they would be able to score.

The Wolfpack's Jay Davis—in his first season under center—played very poorly (12-24, 99 yds, 3 INT), once setting Ohio State up at NC State's 3-yard line, which would result in their lone touchdown. The rest was left to placekicker Mike Nugent. His historic performance included field goals from 30, 33, 46, 47 and 50 yards away. His total of five tied a school record and helped the Buckeyes to a 22-14 victory.

Virginia Cavaliers vs. Minnesota Golden Gophers (Dec. 30, 2005)

The following season, these conferences met in the 2005 Music City Bowl in Nashville, Tennessee. Neither team had the home field advantage with SEC supporters filling the stands.

As was the case five years prior, Minnesota and their opponent were so-so teams having fallen ions short of their conference titles.

The strength of both programs was offense and the Golden Gophers had built up a 14-0 cushion midway through the 1st quarter thanks to quarterback Bryan Cupito. He would add two more touchdowns later in the game. This was a bit uncharacteristic for Minnesota—they entered the game averaging a remarkable 280.0 yards per game rushing. 

Virginia's Marques Hagans kept pace, eventually tying it at 24 apiece with one quarter to go.

Hagans orchestrated two lengthy series with the game on the line: a 77-yard touchdown drive that ended in a two-yard run by Wali Lundy, and a 75-yard sequence that began at the Cavalier 3. Nearly sacked for a safety at the start, Hagans eventually led his squad into field goal range with less than two minutes to play.

Connor Hughes hit the game-winner with 1:08 remaining and Minnesota once again came up short versus the ACC on the postseason stage. Virginia 34, Minnesota 31.  

#3 Penn State Nittany Lions vs. #22 Florida State Seminoles (Jan. 3, 2006)

The stakes were much higher four days later when Penn State and Florida State met in Miami.

PSU (11-1) played as well as anybody during the 2005 season. Each of their last nine games were nationally televised and they rarely disappointed the crowd. The only exception was a heart-breaking 27-25 loss to the Michigan Wolverines in Ann Arbor, a blemish that kept them from the BCS national championship game.

FSU (8-4) wasn't on the same level. After a fiery start, the Seminoles learned to loathe their unbalanced schedule. They went just 2-4 during a brutal 6-game stretch where all but one was away from home. Florida State played well enough to win the ACC Championship Game, but surely they had a lot of encouragement from the Jacksonville-based fans. Now, they found themselves paired with a near-unbeatable opponent in the city that despised them most.

An awesome touchdown pass from Michael Robinson to Ethan Kilmer pushed the Nittany Lions in front, 14-13, a few moments before halftime. Kilmer and Jordan Norwood set career-highs for receptions and receiving yards.

Penn State forced a safety early in the 4th to bolster their lead, but Florida State answered with a 48-yard field goal to tie it up, 16-16. Time expired soon after, sending the game into overtime.

Both conference champs missed field goal attempts on their first possessions and matched each other with goal-line rushing scores in the second OT. PSU won it the next period with a 29-yard kick from Kevin Kelly.

This classic wasn't a fluke: Florida State actually had some amazing talent on defense. Four starters on that unit were drafted in the 1st round of the 2006 NFL Draft! 

Boston College Eagles vs. Michigan State Spartans (Dec. 28, 2007)

In December 2007, the ACC finally produced a worthy team.

The Boston College Eagles (10-3) were on a mission to finish one of the top seasons in their program's history. Soon-to-be Falcons' QB Matt Ryan elevated the offense during the regular season and he was the offense in the Champs Sports Bowl.

He threw 47 times for 249 yards and three touchdowns while the running game sputtered.

Michigan State (7-5) used a more balanced game plan, but suffered from five turnovers. Their quarterback, Brian Hoyer, was atrocious on paper. Jamie Silva may have been responsible for that. The Eagles' safety intercepted two passes and earned MVP honors.

Boston College won 24-21 thanks to some late defensive stops. 

#10 Iowa Hawkeyes vs. #9 Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (Jan. 5 2010)

This 2010 Orange Bowl matchup is arguably the most intriguing between these power conferences over the last dozen years.

Iowa (10-2) entered with a highly-touted defense that had kept every opponent below 30 points.

Georgia Tech (11-2) had notoriously mastered the triple-option offense. The Yellow Jackets ranked 2nd in the nation in rushing yards per game.

The surprisingly frigid weather kept Tech's legs stiff the whole night. They managed only 155 yards of total offense (143 rushing) compared to Iowa's 403. The Yellow Jackets won the turnover battle, yet lost the game. In fact, the Hawkeyes led throughout, finishing with a 24-14 result. Defensive end Adrian Clayborn was named the Orange Bowl's Most Valuable Player. 

Virginia Cavaliers vs. Indiana Hoosiers (Sept. 10, 2011)

Virginia-Indiana was way under the radar, as it should have been considering how "Bucky Larson-awful" these programs are!

The Cavaliers and Hoosiers combined for only one conference win in 2010, but they provided great entertainment when brought together. 

In their first seasons as starters, quarterbacks Michael Rocco and Edward Wright-Baker led messy attacks. They each accounted for two turnovers and completed roughly half their passes. 

Virginia thrice settled for field goals in the 1st half; Indiana was enviable. Paired with erratic passing, the Hoosiers' inept running game couldn't maintain long drives. The Cavaliers took advantage and rolled off 20 unanswered points to build a 23-3 lead.

Then, things got wacky. The home team forced three late turnovers, contributing to a 28-0 run! All of a sudden, the hapless Hoosiers were out in front! Still, there was more drama to come.

Rocco drove his unit 77 yards for a touchdown and game-tying two-point conversion.

Wright-Baker got the ball back with less than two minutes on the clock. He wasn't looking to make dumb decisions, but likewise wasn't willing to let time expire. On a 7-step drop, Virginia's DE Cam Johnson hit him from the blind side and jarred the ball loose. The Cavs recovered and won it with a field goal, 34-31.

Sure, some recent ACC-Big Ten battles have gotten poor programs involved, but I have unconditional love for non-conference nonsense.

What other conference couples have made great memories for you over the last few years? (respond with comments)