The ACC Championship Game is tomorrow night. I expected Virginia Tech to represent the Coastal right up until DeVon Edwards picked off Marquise Williams to seal Duke's division championship. Until that moment, in my mind, it was always when, not if Duke would lose. However, the Blue Devils stunned the Hokies at the end of October and never looked back finishing the season on an 8-game win streak; a perfect record in October and November. Impressive for a program that only got press in Virginia for beating Virginia.
Florida State is one win away from being back. (Some may argue two wins, but if a program plays in the national championship game, it's undeniable that it's nationally relevant.) The last time FSU was this close to being back was over a year ago, before they lost at North Carolina State.
It's mandatory that GIF be shown when mentioning that game.
The 'Noles are favored by as much as 30 points against Duke. If Duke pulls the upset, it would be the most incompetent loss Jimbo Fisher has led the program to. Please remember that this happened.
Duke is not going memorialize Jimbo in a GIF though. Florida State holds a talent advantage across the board. David Cutcliffe is perfectly capable of scheming a plan for the upset, but I don't believe the personnel is there to pull it off. Ultimately, I believe Duke would need to play perfect football, and FSU would have to hold their hand to a victory. If you're looking for more substantial analysis, Ken Sugiura of the AJC wrote a solid preview.
As much as I root against Duke basketball, I'm fond of the underdog. I'm backing the upset and for chaos to ripple out of Charlotte. It's no doubt better for the perception of the ACC and its 14 members if FSU plays for it all. However, there wouldn't be enough water in the world for showers to take after pulling for FSU.
How do you feel about the game? Did you order tickets prematurely and are you going? Who do you got, who do you want to win? How do you think it plays out?
Comments
They still play these things when we're not in them?
I think It's FSU all the way.
I don't think it's really worth the effort to root for the underdog in this place.
Center square takes the Circle. FSU for the win. FSU for the win at NCG.
#goacc
Assuming FSU doesn't slip up, I plan on watching them win the National Championship with the Richmond Seminoles Club. I was introduced to them by Alonzo Tweedy's cousin. He went to FSU but also roots for the Hokies
Got tickets to the game in advance. It was a heck of a deal - ticket + plus a Chick-Fil-A sandwich for $25. I'd pay $25 just for the sandwich on certain days (Sundays). Still going with a decent group. Doesn't hurt that I live less than 2 miles from BOA Stadium.
Feels dirty, but I'm pulling for Florida State. The positives for ACC perception outweigh the sleep I'm likely to lose after opening cheering for the Noles.
I feel bad but I'm pulling for FSU to win by like 30+. Words cannot explain how bad I want for Tech to play A&M in the CFA and the only way they get there IMO is if Duke gets crushed.
if that happens, words cannot describe how much I would want the athletic dept to be intelligent and send the HT's to the bowl, it would complete the perfect mirror with the Fightin Texas Aggie Band and match up between brother land grant institutions and Senior Military Colleges
For the MNC game, I don't want the SEC anywhere NEAR the inside of the stadium without a ticket. NOWHERE. For that reason, I want Florida State and Ohio State to both win on Saturday. And I want them to win convincingly. I want NO DOUBT that the Noles and Buckeyes belong in that game. I want ESPN crying , whining, pissing and moaning the whole month about how the SEC Champ, be it Auburn or Mizzou, deserves to be in that game.
I'm sick of the SEC.
As much as I dislike Ohio State and Florida State, I think I agree with you. ESPN's SEC hard-on needs a bout of impotence in the worst possible way
This times a hundred. Too many SEC teams nipping at the heels (with one loss) that I want complete domination of the ACC. Plus, it hurts more to cheer for Duke than it does to cheer for FSU.
I don't get the whole hating the SEC thing. I get that ESPN is in love with them, but for good reason. Top to bottom they may not always have the best conference but they almost always have the best team. And in my mind OSU, who's played the equivalent of high school JV teams the whole year, doesn't even stand a chance against the top 5 SEC teams
And this is one reason Im happy the playoffs start next year. Now teams will have to prove they belong in the championship game. Im for 16 teams though. 11 conference champions and 5 at large births
Absolutely right. Except there are only 10 Div. I-A conferences now that the WAC is defunct.
I don't believe in conference (or division) runners-up getting seeded into a playoff bracket unless all conference champions are guaranteed a playoff berth first. I just don't get the logic when someone claims a team like Bama, who didn't win the SEC West, much less the SEC, should have a shot at the national championship title while a team who wins the conference outright, like the winner of the Pac12 championship game (go, Stanford!) is left out of the bracket altogether.
I don't have an issue with giving Bama a playoff berth... I just think all the teams that actually beat out their peers to win a title should have a seed before them. Not saying the CUSA champ should be seeded HIGHER than Bama, but they should be guaranteed a berth first.
The problem is the fact that irrelevant teams like Tennessee, South Carolina, and the state of Mississippi get elevated in reputation just because they belong to the conference.
AND how the supporters say that no other team from any other conference would stand a chance in the SEC. Well, Missouri and Texas A&M have blown that notion out of the water their first two years in the conference.
"SEC fatigue," they call it. I have it to an extent, and I go to Georgia.
I'll bite.
For me it's the lack of true parity that fuels my frustration.
I'll use MLB as an analogy to the extreme: In year 2000, one pitcher for the Dodgers earned as much as the entire Minneapolis Team, and the Yankees spent 6x the amount on salaries as the lowest ranked team. From 1995 to 2000 there were almost 2000 playoff/Series games and only THREE were won by teams in the bottom half of the payroll. SO.......you have no chance if you don't have the capital in the MLB.
Moving back to college football, you see a similar disparity.
In 2012, on average, the SEC spent $100,000/school on recruiting MORE than what the average ACC school spent. Alabama's recruiting budget was $980,000, VT's was $243,000.
The NCAA 'tried' to create parity with scholarship limits, but that just concentrated dollars to limited spots, or dollars per roster spot (85 scholarships/team). Dollars spent on recruiting for Alabama $11,529/player, VT $2858/player!
Again, little chance to beat a team with such a discrepancy from the get go.
Sure, there's more to it than that, but there's really no parity, and the NCAA and ESPN, etc make sure that the rich get richer.
So why root against the SEC?-because it's sticking it to the man.....
Preach
Keep in mind, Nick Saban oversigns like a mug, so his numbers are probably closer to $8k per player. Still ridiculous. But then, our fans don't shoot each other or poison trees, so I'm comfortable where we are.
Every time I read one of your comments I'm like, "That guy fucking nailed it again."
You have to admit, Duke winning would be the most #goacc moment ever.
And that is why I have to root for them.
because we want to keep saying #goacc? I want the ACC to rise above that.
Until then... #goacc
Duke winning and Michigan St winning and the SEC backs into the title game having SEC title winner play Alabama. I call shenanigans if that happens.
Oh God.... If that happens I'm boycotting bowl season. Except our bowl, I'm trying to go to that one.
Now that the reality has settled in, how crazy is it that Duke made it to the ACCCG before Miami? Da U sure is back...ing down.
I'm pretty sure Duke will get shredded, but hey, let's #goacc right? It should be fun to watch either way.
Very much pulling for Duke! I love what Cutcliffe has done with the program. I'm a huge Jamison Crowder fan- great kid! (my sister teaches his brother, who is autistic - phenomenal family)
Fsu is in the Mnc with a win no matter what. I see fsu waxing duke for 3 quarters then Jimbo pulling his starters hopefully opening the door for the back door cover by duke
I want the craziest fucking shit anyone has ever seen to happen. I want Duke to trounce FSU.
#TEAMCHAOS
#IJustWantToWatchTheWorldBurn
Similar to voting as a DINO for my 2nd amendment rights, I think FSU has this. I do hope that if/when they make the NC that they absolutely demolish Ohio State though
OSU losing and the SEC Champion losing to FSU would be the best thing ever. That way if FSU trounces OSU we won't have to hear for the next year "Well, the SEC didn't have a spot in the title game so we can't know for sure if FSU or OSU is really the best team in the country..."
I agree with everything Joe said.
I bougth 4 tickets, and Ill be wearing ALLMAROONEVERYTHING. Look for me on TV and try to see through all the GARNET to see the MAroon. HOKIES!
I feel nauseated when I think about this game, because it reminds me that the Hokies lost to Dook at home. In football. The Hokies have lost 10 games over the past two seasons, and the Duke loss this year is by far the most inexplicable of all of them.
I did not order tickets early. I'm a walk up and buy them in the street guy. Would have gone if the Hokies were playing. (Sidenote - If the Hokies get the Sun Bowl, I'm going. I have permanent dibs on a nice couch to crash on in El Paso.)
FSU will win, but I'm with you Joe on pulling for the Dookies. #chaosalldayerryday.
FSU will cover all spreads comfortably. Charlotte is a long way from Disney Studios.
Considering how Free Shoes U. has scored this season, I think we'll be looking at Duke and saying, "Yikes, that could have been us."
If VT beat Duke in the ACC bball tournament in an early round, would they root for us in the finals?
Of course they wouldn't, because Duke fans are stuck-up, douchey, assholes. They don't get to be as good as they are in bball and football, not even for one season.
I hope FSU hangs 60 on them. Duke can lick it always.
BUT would Duke fans root for us if we were playing against UNC in the finals? Because if Duke was playing, say... NC State tomorrow for the ACC title, I don't think we'd be pulling for Duke. But it's the Criminoles...
If it was NC state and Dook, I'd pull for Dook 100%.
Florida state isn't our UNC. Miami is or maybe UVA.
We don't play FSU enough in football to be our UNC bball equivalent. A closer analogy would be if we were playing FSU in the ACC tournament final.
The analogy's not exact (mostly because I couldn't give two shits about basketball) but I think it gets my point across well enough.
And you have to admit there's a fair amount of bad blood between us and FSU
This is my problem. Hate F$U. But I also can't stand Duke and their fans. It's such a lose lose
I want both. I'd love to see Dook pull the upset, but then that means no FSU in the MNC game. So i want FSU to win and represent the ACC and win the MNC. For the most part I'd like to see a good game with FSU coming out on top and beating the shit out of OSU as long as they manage to beat MSU. I've got a hunch MSU beats OSU tomorrow though. But glad I am not a betting man.
FSU 52- 17
As a conference we need FSU to win and then win the NC. Many of us hate the Noles, but it would really help the conference and recruiting as a whole. Just my two cents!
I would rather have FSU lose to duke for the craziness of it. Then VT leads the ACC to national prominance under Andrew Ford.
Have to agree with arnie. Hate to do it but pulling for FSU. Wouldn't mind seeing an SEC team catch a beat down in the MNC game though.
I think it's worth noting that after today Duke will have played in more ACC Championship games than Miami. But Da U is back!
Or UNC. Or LOLUVa. Or NC State. Or Murlin.
Those Blue Devils will really get after ya. ::sniff::
All I can say is hopefully this is the last time Duke wins the Coastal
It's cute once. Twice? You're starting to get annoying.
I'm not really a #goacc type (unless we're the ones on top), and I wish a giant dark vortex would appear and suck both these teams up thus awarding us the coastal and ACCCG. But seeing that that is not likely, I am pissed and want Duke to get plowed back to oblivion where they belong.
I am not a fan of the whole root for the conference thing but when the SEC constantly puts their conference as a whole out there it seems the only way to push back is hope our conference competes strongly as well. I want to see Florida State reveal that the SEC doesn't walk on water. Been preaching for years that the SEC gets the ultimate benefits from preseason rankings and carries it through the season while other conferences don't. Sorry for the rambling response. I am just tired of the SEC.
Duke misses FG attempt
Ok here's what really happened this year: the Coastal wanted to make Duke the division's sacrificial lamb! This was really supposed to be Virginia's year! But no one wanted to deny FSU a chance at the big dance, so we let Duke think they were something special.
Breaking the SEC streak will be good for college football on the whole.
GO non-SEC NC contenders!
I was raised to hate Dook no matter what. Anybody but Dook.
What happened in Charlotte happened the way it happened and it was the best thing to happen when combined with what happened in Indianapolis and what happened in Atlanta.
The SEC has won, what, 7 straight MNCs? If an SEC team hadn't been in the MNC, there would always be people bitching about how FSU and OSU, who played schedules about as tough as a half-empty cardboard box of rubber dildos, met in the MNC and decided who was champion without playing the SEC champ.
That OSU lost to Michigan State seems to support the idea that OSU wasn't truly as dominant as their record suggested (don't confuse this as an indictment of OSU and MSU, they're both top 15 teams at least). That FSU won in dominant fashion despite looking like they didn't have it together (albeit against Duke, even though this isn't your dad's Duke) seems to support the idea that their schedule strength is viewed as poor in part because FSU pummeled everyone. That's the way this is playing out.
But we get our SEC/FSU MNC, thank goodness. No one can bitch and moan about it (maybe Baylor or MSU, because their losses to OkSt and ND, respectively, aren't all that bad, and not much worse than Auburn's loss to LSU). But we have one undefeated team in major college football and he champion of the Greatest Conference To Ever Exist On The Planet Earth In The Solar System In The Universe.
But you know what? I like it like this. Since the SEC started their run of MNCs, they've played the Big Ten (OSU), the PAC 10 (Oregon), the Big 12 (Texas and Oklahoma), the SEC, and Notre Dame. The ACC hasn't gotten a shot at them in the MNC yet. And with all the talk over the last decade of how bad the ACC is compared to the other conferences, wouldn't it be so #gocollegefootball for the ACC to be the ones to dethrone the mighty SEC?
I'd like to think so. Hurry up and give me the game. I'll be an FSU fan for once. #GoNoles #ChoppyChoppy
Posts on facebook by my "Duke fan" friends during an average regular season roundball game: 26
Posts on facebook by my "Duke fan" friends during their 1, likely ever, ACC Football Championship Game: 2. Both of which were turning off the game after 1st half.
Duke can suck it. At. All. Times.
Duke got worked...