Much has been made this weekend's linebacker matchup between Boston College's Luke Kuechly and Notre Dame's Manti Te'o. The spotlight on Kuechly has been further magnified by the fact that #40 stands just 15 tackles away from breaking the school's all-time record (524, Stephen Boyd) and six tackles short of the ACC record held by Clemson's Bubba Brown.
This week the Florida Times-Union's Garry Smits wrote his best, poorly constructed argument attempting to at least partially discredit Kuechly's assault on the ACC's record book.
Among the highlights: BC is just 15-17 during Kuechly's 32-game streak of double-digit tackles and just 5-10 when Kuechly records 15+ (because linebackers have a significant influence on the outcome of games). Smits also argues that Kuechly is on the field more than his peers (which is true) and that just three of the top 10 tacklers in ACC history were on an ACC Championship team (again, winning percentage ... and linebacker play? Strongly correlated, obvi).
Finally, Smits abandons any and all logic with this doozy of a reason why you shouldn't take Kuechly's eventual ACC career record for total tackles seriously.
"Here's another clue about how tackles should not be taken very seriously as a statistic in evaluating a player or a defense: The list of the ACC's top-20 in career tackles and top-20 in single-season tackles does not include a single player from Florida State, Miami or Virginia Tech."
Oh, right. I didn't realize that if a Seminole, a Hurricane or a Hokie doesn't rank in the top-20 of a conference statistical category that IT SHOULDN'T BE TAKEN SERIOUSLY. Nevermind the fact that Virginia Tech and Miami have been in the conference for all of eight seasons.
After the jump, I've compiled a similar list of individual ACC career records that totally shouldn't count, considering a Florida State, Miami or Virginia Tech player doesn't rank among the conference's all-time greats. PLEASE IGNORE THESE RECORDS. THEY ARE NOT TO BE TAKEN SERIOUSLY. Much like Garry Smits.
TOTAL PLAYS
1. Philip Rivers, NC State (00-03) ..............1,962
2. Thaddeus Lewis, Duke (06-09) ..............1,860
3. Reggie Ball, Georgia Tech (03-06) .........1,858
4. Riley Skinner, Wake Forest (06-09) .......1,636
5. Charlie Whitehurst, Clem. (02-05) .........1,633
6. Spence Fischer, Duke (92-95) ................1,612
7. Shawn Jones, Georgia Tech (89-92) ........1,609
8. Ben Bennett, Duke (80-83) .....................1,582
RUSHING TOUCHDOWNS
1. Ted Brown, NC State (75-78) ......................49
2. James Davis, Clemson (05-08) ....................47
3. Robert Lavette, Georgia Tech (81-84) .........45
4. Rick Badanjek, Maryland (82-85) ...............44
5. Leon Johnson, North Carolina (93-96) ........43
Wali Lundy, Virginia (02-05).......................4
RUSHING ATTEMPTS
1. Robert Lavette, Georgia Tech (81-84) .......914
2. Amos Lawrence, North Carolina (77-80) ......881
3. James McDougald, Wake Forest (76-79) ......880
4. Ted Brown, NC State (75-78) ....................860
5. Chris Barclay, Wake Forest (02-05) ..........84
200 YARD RUSHING GAMES
1. Thomas Jones, Virginia (96-99) ....................6
2. Amos Lawrence, North Carolina (77-80) ......3
Natrone Means, North Carolina (90-92) .......3
Mike Voight, North Carolina (73-76) ............3
Charlie Wysocki, Maryland (78-81) ..............3
PASSES ATTEMPTED
1. Philip Rivers, NC State (2000-03) ........1,710
2. Thaddeus Lewis, Duke (2006-09) .........1,510
3. Ben Bennett, Duke (1980-83) ...............1,375
4. Spence Fischer, Duke (1992-95) ...........1,369
5. Charlie Whitehurst, Clem. (2002-05) ....1,368
6. Reggie Ball, Georgia Tech (2003-06) ....1,363
7. Riley Skinner, Wake Forest (2006-09) ..1,349
8. Matt Ryan, Boston College (2004-07) ..1,347
9. T.J. Yates, North Carolina (2007-10) .....1,277
10. Jamie Barnette, NC State (1996-99) ......1,243
PASSES COMPLETED
1. Philip Rivers, NC State (2000-03) ........1,087
2. Riley Skinner, Wake Forest (2006-09) .....903
3. Thaddeus Lewis, Duke (2006-09) ............877
4. Ben Bennett, Duke (1980-83) ..................820
5. Charlie Whitehurst, Clemson (2002-05) ..817
6. Matt Ryan, Boston College (2004-07) .....807
7. T.J. Yates, North Carolina (2007-10) ........795
8. Spence Fischer, Duke (1992-95) ..............786
9. Matt Schaub, Virginia (2000-03) ..............716
10. Darian Durant, N. Carolina (2001-04) .....701
KICKOFF RETURNS
1. Torrey Smith, Maryland (2008-10) .............123
2. Brandon Tate, UNC (2005-08) ....................109
3. Jabari Marshall, Duke (2005-08) ................107
4. Eric Blount, UNC (1988-91) .........................97
5. T.J. Graham, NC State (2008-**) ..............93
6. Kevin Marion, Wake Forest (2004-07) .........88
7. Marcus Wall, UNC (1992-95) .......................87
Anthony Williams, Wake Forest (1988-91) ..87
9. Chris Douglas, Duke (2000-03) ....................84
Alvis Whitted, NC State (1994-97)...............84
Jeff Smith, Boston College (2006-09) ..........84
12.Troy Slade, Duke (1973-75) .........................83
13.Randy Jones, Duke (1987-90) .......................81
14.Ralph Stringer, NC State (1973-77) ..............78
15.Joe Sroba, Virginia (1974-76) .......................74
C.J. Spiller, Clemson (2006-09) ....................74
250 YARD ALL-PURPOSE GAMES
1. Frank Quayle, Virginia (1966-68) ...................5
2. Torrey Smith, Maryland (2008-10) .............4
3. C.J. Spiller, Clemson (2006-09) ................*3
4. Tiki Barber, Virginia (1993-96) ...................2
Chris Barclay, Wake Forest (2002-05) ........2
Amos Lawrence, North Carolina (1977-80) ..2
Don McCauley, North Carolina (1968-70) ..2
Scottie Montgomery, Duke (1996-99) .........2
Alvin Pearman, Virginia (2001-04) .............2
Brandon Tate, North Carolina (2005-08) ....2
PUNTS ATTEMPTED
1. Brian Morton, Duke (1997-00) ....................282
2. Scott McAlister, North Carolina (1988-91) ..278
3. Russ Henderson, Virginia (1975-78) .........276
4. Jeff Walker, Virginia (1981-83, 85) ...........273
5. Jeff Pierce, Georgia Tech (1978-81) ..........25
INTERCEPTIONS
1. Alphonso Smith, Wake Forest ..........................2005-08 249 11.9 2
2. Dre' Bly, North Carolina ..................................1996-98 198 9.9 20
3. John Talley, Duke .............................................2003-06 395 21.9 18
4. Tom Brown, Maryland. ....................................1960-62 275 16.2 17
Ronnie Burgess, Wake Forest ...........................1981-84 176 10.4 17
A.J. Greene, Wake Forest .................................1985-88 175 10.3 17
Terry Kinard, Clemson .....................................1978-81 147 8.6 17
Keith McMeans, Virginia .................................1987-90 88 5.2 17
9. Lou Angelo, North Carolina .............................1970-72 115 7.2 16
Pat Chester, Virginia .........................................1978-82 296 18.5 16
Willie Clay, Georgia Tech ................................1988-91 264 16.5 16
Rich Searl, Duke ...............................................1969-71 197 12.3 16
Eric Williams, NC State ...................................1978-82 167 10.4 1
OK, OK. Maybe the punting records really don't mean all that much. Point stands.