The ACC and non-conference games

The road to credibility for the ACC is paved by credible showings in non-conference games, and it seems like just a few weeks ago we were looking ahead to the 2010 season and identifying the opportunities for the conference to alter unfavorable perceptions.

Despite preseason pronouncements of one of its divisions (the Coastal) being perhaps the best in college football, and the presence of a number of distinguished quarterbacks, the ACC wasn't ready for primetime.

Florida State was flattened at Oklahoma. Miami didn't hold up at Ohio State. North Carolina and Virginia Tech fell short against LSU and Boise State, respectively.

And then came the black eye in Blacksburg: a shocking, shattering Virginia Tech loss to James Madison. The same Hokie team that won the entire conference couldn't beat the (insert James Madison's mascot here; I couldn't remember), and then Stanford completely pasted Virginia Tech in the Orange Bowl.

Aside from Florida State's wins over South Carolina and Florida, North Carolina's controversial bowl victory over Tennessee, and N.C. State's bowl win over West Virginia, there wasn't a whole lot for the conference to brag about in its games against other BCS schools.

And now here we are, looking ahead to 2011 and identifying the ACC's prime opportunities to snag some respect.

Good thing is, the ACC gets some return trips on games that were played in hostile environs last year.

Florida State gets Oklahoma in Tallahassee on Sept. 17 (and a week before the Seminoles travel to Clemson).

Also on Sept. 17, Auburn ventures to Auburn with a Lake to face a Clemson team that is salivating to strengthen its credentials.

The current fiasco enveloping Ohio State diminishes the Buckeyes' stature, but don't tell Al Golden that Miami's Sept. 17 home game against Ohio State isn't a big deal.

Three years ago, the ACC pulled off a coup late in the season when Clemson and Georgia Tech pulled off big wins over South Carolina and Georgia, respectively. Now both the Tigers and Yellow Jackets have lost a combined four consecutive games against their rivals. Reversing that trend this year would be difficult but rewarding for the schools and their conferences.

The ACC could also serve itself well by just not embarrassing itself in the postseason. In addition to the Orange Bowl debacle by the Hokies, the ACC also lost to South Florida (Clemson), to Air Force (Georgia Tech), Notre Dame (Miami) and Nevada (Boston College).

LW