Jeff: The ACC played in three highly talked about and watched matchups this weekend winning two of four, with Maryland playing West Virginia close in a losing effort. Miami and Clemson beat ranked opponents in Ohio State and Auburn, respectively. Florida State lost to the number 1 team in the nation -- Oklahoma -- but had the game tied in the fourth quarter, a huge improvement versus last season when they got blown out in Norman.
The ACC has had similar opportunities to make big statements in non-conference play in the last several seasons but they have not even come close to delivering. Boston College is really not helping the ACC this season with their non-conference results this season but the rest of the league is performing respectably. It might be too early to say for sure, but would you agree that the ACC might be as strong as it has been since BC joined and they expanded to 12 teams?
Brian: Miami and Clemson delivered big, big wins for the conference on Saturday. Georgia Tech rolled up 66 points at home against the Big 12's Kansas Jayhawks. Maryland and Florida State played its ranked opponents close. It wasn't a unequivocal statement that ACC football is back, but it certainly wasn't a disastrous weekend as we've witnessed in the past.
The bigger news this weekend was the conference going back to the Big East and poaching two founding members of the conference. While Syracuse and Pittsburgh haven't been ranked in the Top 10 in over two decades and I doubt either will be competing for ACC Championships in football in short order, the ACC further solidified its future as a viable conference, once again at the expense of the Big East. These additions will help the conference renegotiate its TV contract with ESPN and bridge the geographic gap between Chestnut Hill and College Park. Adding the Orange and the Panthers secures the ACC's football future and the conference's place as one of the nation's BCS "super conferences."
Overall, a great weekend for the ACC ... even if it doesn't change the fact Boston College football is 0-3 for the first time since 1991.