To Pitt and Syracuse: it could be worse, you could be in the ACC

TheBullies · September 1, 2008

Actual headline...

It Could Be Worse ... you could be the ACC. Pitt, Michigan and Texas A&M had starts to forget, but it pales in comparison to the ACC.

In the Big East, where No. 25 Pittsburgh and Syracuse collapsed in the fourth quarter and lost their games, they are saying it.
In College Station, where Texas A&M fans are still trying to figure out who that team from Arkansas was and why they didn't call them the Hogs, they are saying it.
Al Groh
Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images
Much like most of the ACC, Al Groh had no answers this weekend.
And at the other Arkansas, where they do call them the Hogs -- and what they called them Saturday night when they nearly lost to Western Illinois, you don't want to know -- they are saying it.
The refrain of every team that had a bad opening week: Thank God for the ACC.
The Absent Credibility Conference had the worst opening since "Moose Murders," the legendary 1983 one-nighter by which all Broadway flops are measured. Investors in the ACC don't have the option of closing the football season, so fans must take solace in the coaching bromide that video shows that you're never as good or as bad as it seemed at the time.
The ACC went 2-4 against FBS opponents, with the wins by Wake Forest (41-13 over Baylor) and Boston College (21-0 over Kent State in Cleveland). The league went 5-0 over FCS opponents, which is good news if you don't look too closely. North Carolina hung on to defeat McNeese State 35-27, and Maryland defeated Delaware 14-7.
There is no pattern to the ACC's losses. The league lost at home, on the road and at neutral sites (twice). Three of the four losses came to teams that played in bowls last season. However, more than half the schools in the FBS play in bowls. The four winning teams had combined records of 32-19, and that includes USC, which went 11-2.
At Pittsburgh, the Panthers lost to Bowling Green 27-17 after spotting the Falcons a 14-0 lead. It is the Panthers' ninth upset loss in coach Dave Wannstedt's four seasons. Pitt's game Saturday against Buffalo, like Bowling Green a contender in the Mid-American Conference, carries more import than it did before Saturday.
Two coaches attempting drastic change lost their openers at their respective schools. Texas A&M, transitioning to a pro-set offense, lost at home to Arkansas State, 18-14. It might make new coach Mike Sherman feel better if he knew that the last two head coaches to lose their Aggies debuts, Jackie Sherrill and Gene Stallings, own national championship rings.
On the other hand, neither Sherrill nor Stallings won his ring at Texas A&M.
Michigan, debuting in head coach Rich Rodriguez's spread option offense, fell to Utah, 25-23. After Wolverines quarterback Steven Threet rallied the team with two touchdowns to pull within two points, he looked young and indecisive on Michigan's final three possessions. He competed 2 of 6 passes for 11 yards and took a third-down sack that forced Michigan to use a timeout.
Threet, a redshirt freshman, started his college football career by enrolling at Georgia Tech.
That would be Georgia Tech of the ACC.