The ACC and its roots

You can't help but wonder how much a scandal-ridden year influenced the ACC's move to go after Syracuse and Pittsburgh.

And if Rutgers ends up being a part of this equation, there'd be almost no doubt in my mind that the ACC is more queasy than it used to be about this big-boy football thing.

North Carolina was a huge embarrassment with Butch Davis' in-house tutor, his in-office agent, and a bunch of other shady stuff. Miami and Nevin Shapiro brought the mother of face-palm moments to the brass in Greensboro. And even though Georgia Tech's transgressions weren't a huge deal by comparison, it still was another example of the dangers of getting into this dangerous game.

I used The Godfather analogy yesterday, saying the ACC seems to be the family that's playing it safe and sticking with alcohol while other families (SEC, Big Ten) get into the profitable drug trade.

You have to think a number of heavy hitters in Chapel Hill are saying: "Um, yeah. This football thing didn't go over too well. Let's just stick to being great in basketball."

Maybe that's a fairly good microcosm of the ACC's thinking as a whole. It tried to show off its brand new driver but started spraying the ball all over the place. Now maybe it's resolved to be conservative and go with the safe play in the form of a 3-wood or a 4-iron.

But maybe John Swofford has an unexpected utility club in the bag in the form of a school from South Bend.

OK, enough of the analogies.

A few Tuesday links...

-- Barry Jacobs of The ACC Sports Journal weighs in on the latest news.

Jacobs is one of the basketball purists who bemoaned the move from nine to 12 schools. I'm trying to figure out where the ACC would be right now had it stuck at nine. Guessing it wouldn't be good.

-- Ron Morris gives his take on all this, and he points out a disturbing possible byproduct of the recent shifts: More and more empty seats.

Fans are getting walloped on two fronts, and it is beginning to show at the ticket window. They now are weighing their allegiance to a program against their wallets while recognizing that games are more enjoyable on high-definition TV in the comfort of their living rooms.

The monthly cable bill is considerably less expensive than joining the Gamecock Club, paying fees for parking and a seat license and purchasing tickets for the game. Athletics department officials across the country prefer to blame the slow decline in attendance at college football games on a sagging economy. No doubt, that is a significant contributing factor.

But those same officials should not turn a blind eye to a growing number of fans who believe the games are much better viewed from their couches. It helps explain why USC did not sell out its original allotment of tickets for the opening football game against East Carolina in Charlotte, and why there were thousands of vacant seats as the nation’s 10th-ranked team played its home opener at Williams-Brice Stadium.

-- Gregg Doyel calls on Congress to stop this conference money-grab. No thanks.

-- This story says Jimbo Fisher knows recruiting.

When it comes to luring top prospects, the only group better than Jimbo Fisher and his crew has been Nick Saban's bunch at Alabama. The Tide and Seminoles are 1-2 right now for the 2012 class, the same way they finished the recruiting race last year.

-- So E.J. Manuel is considered "day to day." Aren't we all?

-- Chad Morris' stock is up according to Rivals.com's Steve Megargee, who ranks him sixth-best OC in college football.

-- Speaking of Morris, the guy who decided to bring his offense to Texas A&M a few years ago talks to Rivals.

Q: Are more NFL strategies being used in college?

A: "I think there are college strategies used in the NFL. I saw the Bengals score on a hurry-up, tempo play recently for a touchdown. There are college elements when you talk about the 'Wildcat,' some of the spread concepts you see in the NFL. A lot of college teams up-tempo plays and I see a lot of NFL teams doing the same.

"So, I think it goes the other way. Certainly there are some concepts that come down. But when you look at tape, there are 32 NFL teams and there are over 100 college teams. And you have all those coaches thinking and being creative. You have a lot of creativity in college football. You watch one offense and another offense, what they are doing. ... What college coaches and high school coaches are teaching, it's amazing how they get all that stuff taught. They get a lot more reps with these kids in high school in a shorter period of time. In the NFL, you don't get quite as many reps as you do in college. I think a lot of the college ideas filter up into the NFL ranks."

Q: Do you think spread offenses are dying?

A: "I don't think so. I think they are alive and well. It has more elements even maybe than the run-and-shoot. It's a byproduct of the run-and-shoot. But people in the spread are more committed to running the football. That's why I don't think it will die out. I think the run game in the spread offense is a big component of it. As long as that continues, the spread will stay."

-- Nate Freese probably isn't the most popular guy in Chestnut Hill right now.

-- And Mike Krzyzewski likes the additions of Pitt and Syracuse.

Of course he does.



LW