The ACC’s Collapse: How Bad Football Is Tearing Apart a Once-Proud Conference

How do I even begin to tackle the mess that is pre-season top 5 Clemson? Well, they can’t tackle anyone, so why should I even try to tackle the poor play and lack of player leadership in upstate South Carolina. Head Coach Dabo Swinney says he can and will fix things. Meanwhile fans are abandoning games by the thousands, and the Tigers have not beaten a Power 4 opponent at home since Virginia in October of last year. Clemson ranks 69^th in scoring offense, 41^st in total offense, 64^th in scoring defense, and 54^th in total defense. This is almost exactly what you would expect out of a 3-5 team. Can Coach Swinney adapt to the changes in college football, or will he bolt and try somewhere else? Again, another team with multiple future NFL players is embarrassing itself.

Don’t worry ACC fans, this void has been filled with a new breed of teams coming to restore conference greatness. They have teams like Georgia Tech that has beaten…… oh, they haven’t beaten anyone with a pulse, lost to NC State last week, and almost lost to a poor Wake Forest team. At least you have Virginia. Uh oh, the Cavaliers haven’t beaten anyone good either, and had to stop an awful UNC team at the goal line to save their chances at making the ACC Championship. Did I mention UVA also lost to NC State? ACC fans should put their hopes on Louisville. At least they’ve beaten both Miami and James Madison (insert sarcasm emoji here). The only answer is seemingly more money. The conference powers need to pony up enough to pay to remain competitive. Things like tradition, pipelines to the NFL, great facilities and fans all mean less today than they ever have. Today it’s “what am I getting paid”? When teams can answer that question correctly, the ACC will get better.