Colleges

Stumbling and tumbling, FSU mirrors the ACC

Bobby Bowden says the conference's balance contributes to a down year.

By BRIAN LANDMAN
Published October 12, 2006

For just the fourth time in the past 16-plus seasons, Florida State is missing from the AP football poll.

The Seminoles (3-2), who were No. 9 a month ago and still No. 17 before last Thursday's loss at North Carolina State, tumbled into unfamiliar and dubious territory - Others receiving votes.

"It'd be more disappointing if the season were over and you're out of the Top 25," coach Bobby Bowden said. "We just have to climb back."

There's time for that, to be sure. FSU shot back into the poll last year on the strength of its upset of then No. 5-ranked Virginia Tech in the inaugural ACC championship game.

A win Saturday at Duke (0-5) might not provide enough oomph.

But then you might say the same thing the next few weeks, too, which underscores a league problem. With FSU and Miami - the marquee teams in the 12-member league - both struggling and unranked and Clemson, at No. 12, the highest-ranked ACC team and one of just three ranked ACC teams, the national perception of the conference isn't good.

"In my eyes, it's way down," ESPN analyst Chris Spielman said recently. "I hope I'm not too critical, but that's what I see. I don't think it's very good."

- The ACC has a 23-11 non-conference record, but it doesn't have a single win against a ranked team. Georgia Tech, now No. 13, came the closest with a 14-10 loss to then No. 2 Notre Dame in the season opener. The Hurricanes were flat out embarrassed last month at Louisville, 31-7.

- Akron beat N.C. State in Raleigh. Western Michigan, another MAC team, beat Virginia, which also lost to East Carolina. Richmond, a Division I-AA team, shut out the Blue Devils in Durham.

- Then throw in some narrow ACC escapes, including FSU needing a pair of touchdowns in the final six minutes to beat visiting Troy, 24-17.

For his part, Bowden, whose teams have won the league title 12 times since joining the ACC in 1992, said the league is better from top-to-bottom than it's ever been.

"It's not that Florida State and Miami have gone down that much, it's that the daggum conference has gotten tougher and it's tougher to win nowadays," he said.

He and other ACC coaches all point to the loss of talent from last year when the league was No. 2 in the Sagarin Computer poll. (That after consecutive No. 1 finishes.) Fourteen players earned first-team All-America honors from some organization. The league saw 12 players selected in the first round of the NFL draft and 51 players chosen overall.

"I remember last year in April, they were the toast of the conferences," ESPN analyst Kirk Herbstreit said. "Naturally, there's going to be a dropoff."

He and ABC/ESPN analyst Doug Flutie, the Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback from Boston College, agree that another reason for the ACC's fall in stature is the large number of young and/or inexperienced quarterbacks.

Wake Forest lost redshirt junior Benjamin Maulk in the opener and has turned to redshirt freshman Riley Skinner. He's the ACC leader in passing efficiency at No. 30 nationally.

N.C. State benched Marcus Stone and turned to redshirt sophomore Daniel Evans, who hadn't thrown a pass before this season. He's been spectacular in come-back-wins the last two weeks.

"(Drew) Weatherford is young, but I thought he would have a breakout year; that surprises me what's going on offensively at Florida State," Flutie said. "The younger guys are going to struggle."

Clemson, Virginia Tech, Miami, FSU, Georgia Tech, Virginia and Wake Forest are all in the top 37 nationally in total defense.

"I think there is a lot of parity in the ACC this year," said Larry Coker, Miami's embattled coach. "There's a lot of pretty good teams, but probably no really great teams. Surprising? Yes, but that's just where we are right now."

[Last modified October 12, 2006, 01:52:24]