Conference Realignment: Where Would Pitt, Syracuse Rank in the ACC?
This morning, Pitt and Syracuse applied to join the ACC giving the conference 14 teams and two powerhouse basketball programs, but at a football standpoint, how does that make the conference better?
Syracuse will most likely be towards the bottom of the pack with the likes of Duke, Wake Forest and Virginia. Pitt on the other hand could join the conference and find themselves somewhere near the top.
Pitt has had a very good program traditionally. They usually are an 8 or 9 win team, but that is in the Big East. In comparison to the ACC, the Big East isn't as athletic and doens't provide the kind of defenses that the ACC does.
Florida State and Virginia Tech are really the only two teams left worth talking about anymore in the ACC; every other team just falls in line. North Carolina was on a roll in recent years, but they've started to fall off. Miami has the huge scandal circulating and N.C. State, Boston College and Maryland seem to be mediocre teams that have potential, but never make the most out of it.
Pitt could fit in nicely behind FSU and Virginia Tech. They have a good program and usually bring in good recruiting classes. They have potential to be a good team in the ACC and to have success early and often, the only real obstacle is going to be adjusting to new places to play and having tougher opponents week in and week out.
Pitt will have to travel to Florida now and won't be surrounded by area home games like they were in the Big East. They will be counted on to enhance the prestige of the ACC instead of being part of a mediocre conference.
The most important thing for Pitt is that they will have another great state for recruiting with Florida and will have a chance to make an immediate impact in the conference by challenging the likes of Florida State and Virginia Tech for conference supremacy. The move is a good one for Pitt and will benefit them in the long run, but the learning curve will exist in the first couple years; the rest is up to them.
