The best way to gain respect is to earn it
Jim Dedmon-USA TODAY Sports
The Syracuse Orange aren’t being talked about as College Football Playoff contenders. Some of that is expectations for the Orange, but some of that is the national media’s perception of the ACC.
A lot of people assume that the ACC is going to land one team in the first CFP. Florida State losing to Georgia Tech has led to more dismissal of the ACC’s hopes. Sure it’s ridiculous to say that, but that’s the state of things.
People will point to Clemson vs Georgia as the biggest opportunity for the ACC to make a statement and while a Tigers win would be big, it goes beyond one game. Miami (vs Florida) and Virginia Tech (vs Vanderbilt) play road games at SEC schools. North Carolina heads to Minnesota and Stanford hosts TCU in other P4 match-ups. Next week NC State hosts Tennessee in another top-25 ACC-SEC matchup.
Clemson winning would make the biggest splash, but there are long-term benefits for the ACC should the others take care of business. Florida has the toughest schedule in the nation, which means a Miami win on the road could become very valuable for not only the Canes but the rest of the league. Tennessee has CFP aspirations as well and if NC State can knock off an SEC contender that raises the profile of the entire league.
Two games against top 25 SEC opponents are opportunities for the ACC. We don’t know how they CFP committee will evaluate at-large teams, but if college basketball is any indicator then strength of schedule will certainly be a strong consideration.
The other ACC schools need to take care of business. While it’s early, dropping games to the other P4 leagues sets a tone for the rest of the season and it becomes harder to shift that narrative. Any dreams of Syracuse having a shot beyond winning the ACC Championship will rely on two things- winning games and having their opponents do the same.
Georgia Tech took one step forward in that regard and if they win again, they should come to Syracuse as a top 25 team. Think about the boost that should give the Orange for attendance for a game that didn’t look that appealing a week ago. An early opportunity to beat a ranked opponent could do wonders for what the national analysts think about Fran Brown’s squad. (of course they first must take care of business against Ohio)
SEC and B10 teams are going to get the benefit of the doubt this year. It’s putting a lot of pressure on ACC and B12 teams to do enough to earn the leagues more than one spot in the 12-team playoff. The perceived best conferences will get the benefit of the doubt through the season, so the best thing the ACC can do is take care of business early and keep themselves in the conversation as long as possible.
