With a change in the ACC map, is coming even more that aren't sitting well with some ACC fans (Pic per OrangeandWhite.com).
Boom – the ACC is going to a 9-game football conference schedule when Pittsburgh and Syracuse join on a date TBD.
It’s an interesting move, following in the footsteps of the PAC-12, and in the end, it’s probably the right one.
If you’re adding teams, adding conference games makes sense – cutting the OOC down to three games.
Obviously, it’ll limit the amount of prime non-conference games, but let’s be honest, that can only help the ACC.
I’ve said for a while that Syracuse to the Atlantic and Pitt to the Coastal makes the most sense. The Orange rekindles the yearly matchup with regional neighbor Boston College, and plays Pitt in cross-divisional action.
It appears that was the main idea from what commish John Swofford told David Teel of the Daily Press:
Swofford said the “overriding factors” in the division assignments were keeping Virginia Tech and Boston College as partners, and rekindling the Boston College-Syracuse and Virginia Tech-Pitt rivalries that waned when the Hokies and Eagles left the Big East for the ACC.
In my estimation, there just wasn’t a way to feasibly blow up the divisional structure and piece it back together North-South or otherwise. They made the right call here.
The other main point of contention from the ACC announcement was the structure of the new 18-game basketball conference schedule, having just one guaranteed home-and-home series and a 14-team ACC Tourney. From the release:
The scheduling model will be based on a three-year cycle during which teams will play every league opponent at least once with the primary partners playing home and away annually while the other 12 rotate in groups of four: one year both home and away; one year at home only; and one year away only. Over the course of the three-year cycle primary partners play a total of six times and all other conference opponents play four times.
This is where most folks are freaking out, mostly in one particular state. How else can you really do it when throwing the ‘Cuse and Pitt into the mix? It’s not Tobacco Road-friendly from a historical standpoint, but there’s 10 other conference schools now.
From Teel again, Swofford says the new basketball-schedule style passed with majority support:
“The (basketball) coaches were very supportive of the one-partner scheduling,” Swofford said, “and as it turned out, so were the athletic directors.”
So, the plan is finally in place – when does this all go down? Looks like we’re not any closer to knowing.
ACC commissioner John Swofford wouldn’t speculate on Pittsburgh and Syracuse joining the ACC before 2014. “First of all, (that decision) is between Pitt and Syracuse and the Big East,” Swofford said.
However, if the Panthers and Orange can leave before 2014, the ACC will be ready.
“The fact we made our decision how we will schedule and compete certainly helps us (when they join),” Swofford said. “In terms of when that time may come, I don’t want to get into a hypothetical of this or that. Our position continues to be that we want to prepare ourselves when they’re ready and it’s appropriate for them to join us.”
The Big East won’t really still hold Pitt and Syracuse until 2014, right? (Right??) Who knows, but it’s not happening in 2012, and beyond that, the courts and whatever precedent West Virginia sets in its departure to Big XII will determine if there can be epic clashes like Clemson-Syracuse in 2013.
The sooner this will all go down the better, but probably by then, the ACC will get raided or add 10 more teams just to mess with us.
As we ring in a new year, here’s a look back at some of the best moments from the year that was for the NC State Wolfpack.
Honorable Mention. November 9: Pack Hoops inks three big-time recruits
Coach Mark Gottfried’s first recruiting class at NC State will be a big one. On National Signing Day he received hard commitments from three of the nation’s best seniors- and all three of them are from the state of North Carolina.
Tyler Lewis of Oak Hill Academy is a four-star prospect rated as the eighth best point guard in the 2012 class. He is joined by Brewster Academy’s T.J. Warren, a five star small forward who is ranked as the fifth best player at his position, and Rodney Purvis, a five star recruit rated as the fifth best shooting guard in this year’s class.
ESPNU 100 ranked Gottfried’s class as the No. 2 class in the country, while Rivals.com has rated the Wolfpack’s incoming class as the nation’s No. 3 class.
5. November 21: State basketball rallies from 18 down to beat Texas, 77-74
The Pack used an incredible 28-2 run to erase an 18-point second half deficit to outlast Texas at the final horn 77-74 in the TicketCity Legends Classic consolation game in Newark, New Jersey.
The Pack was led by C.J. Leslie’s 17 points, Scott Wood’s 16, and Lorenzo Brown’s 11 points and four assists. The Longhorns’ Julien Lewis saw his buzzer beater fall three feet short to send the Pack home with their first win of the season over a power conference team.
4. November 5: State shuts out Carolina, 13-0
After tons of trash talk between players and coaches the week leading up to the highly anticipated rivalry match-up between the Wolfpack and Tar Heels, the Pack’s defense spoke last. They recorded four sacks and three interceptions, knocking out Tar Heel quarterback Bryn Renner at the end of the third quarter and shutting out “the Flagship” 13-0 at Carter-Finley Stadium.
Senior receiver T.J. Graham scored the game’s only touchdown on a 12-yard pass from quarterback Mike Glennon. Freshman kicker Niklas Sade converted on two field-goal attempts to round out the scoring for the Pack.
The win marked the first time the Wolfpack had beaten the Tar Heels five straight times since 1988-92.
3. December 27: State wins Belk Bowl, 31-24 over Louisville
After barely qualifying for a bowl game, the Pack headed a few hours down the road to Charlotte to play Louisville in the Belk Bowl. In front of a favorable crowd, the Pack put on a show. Quarterback Mike Glennon took home MVP honors after throwing for 264 yards and three touchdowns. Receiver Tobais Palmer made a remarkable catch for a 35 yard touchdown in the first half, and senior T.J. Graham followed it by making multiple Cardinal defenders miss as he took a pass from Glennon 68 yards for a score.
But it was State’s defense that won the game for the Pack late, as they got two interceptions by the nation’s leader, David Amerson. He returned one 65 yards for a touchdown, which ended up as the deciding score in the ballgame. The Pack sacked Louisville quarterback Teddy Bridgewater five times on the night, and picked him off three times. It was fitting that the game ended with Amerson’s 13th interception of the year, a new ACC single-season record.
2. November 26: State comes back from 27 down against Maryland to win 56-41
Needing to win their final game of the season to reach bowl eligibility, State trailed 41-14 with six minutes left in the third quarter to a Maryland team that had nothing to play for. With many fans already headed for the exits, the Pack scored 42 unanswered points (35 in the fourth quarter) to stun the Terrapins.
State needed just 13 minutes of game time to erase the deficit, as James Washington scored on a one yard run to put the Pack ahead with just over seven minutes to play in the game. Quarterback Mike Glennon threw for 306 yards and became the second Wolfpack player to account for six touchdowns in a single game, joining Philip Rivers in that exclusive club.
It was the biggest comeback in NC State’s history, and the second-largest comeback in the history of the ACC.
1. November 19: State destroys No. 7 Clemson, 37-13
The Pack hadn’t defeated Clemson since 2003, and many expected this would not be the year that they ended the streak against the Tigers. Coming off an embarrassing loss at Boston College, State dominated then No. 7 Clemson, who came into the game with a record of 9-1, in every phase of the game. The Wolfpack defense caused four turnovers, and sacked All-ACC quarterback Tahj Boyd five times.
Quarterback Mike Glennon completed 19 of his 29 passing attempts for 253 yards, tossing three touchdowns, one each to Tobais Palmer, George Bryan, and Jay Smith. Freshman Tony Creecy added a score on the ground for the Wolfpack.
It was the first victory at home for the Pack over a top ten team since 1998.
It was throw back day in Raleigh as NC State (6-3) hosted local North Carolina Central (5-5, 1-0 MEAC) at historic Reynold’s Coliseum Sunday afternoon. Popcorn and hot dogs were just a dollar and posters commemorating the 1983 National Championship team were handed out before and after the game.
But it was a throw back of the NC State teams from the late 2000’s that showed up for most of the second half of State’s 65-60 win.
State started strong, shutting Central out for the first six and half minutes of the game and jumping out to an early 9-0 lead, but State could not pull away from the Eagles, allowing them to hang around until the final horn.
After holding a double-digit lead for most of the game (led 37-27 at the half), the Pack started to get sloppy on both ends of the floor, using an ineffective 2-3 zone for most of the second half on defense while turning the ball over 16 times and shooting a low percentage (37%) on the offensive end.
State allowed the Eagles, who entered the game with the number two scoring offense in the country at almost 89 points per game, to cut the lead all the way down to three in the final minute, but four late free throws from sophomore Scott Wood, who is perfect on the season from the charity stripe, helped the Pack escape with the win.
Wood finished with 19 points, hitting five of his nine three-point attempts in 38 minutes. As a team, the Pack only made seven of their 23 attempts from three point land, and their inability to knock down outside shots has really hurt them so far this season.
State’s lone senior, C.J. Williams, led all scorers with a career-high 21 points. He also pulled down five of the Wolfpack’s 34 rebounds. Junior Richard Howell, who played only 27 minutes due to foul trouble, was the only other State player to score in double-figures, finishing with 11 points and a game-high eight rebounds.
Sophomores Lorenzo Brown and Calvin Leslie both struggled to score, finishing with one and three points, respectively. Brown finished 0-7 from the floor but still managed to quarterback the offense nicely with six of the Pack’s 15 assists.
The Pack has a week off to prepare for their toughest test of the year, as Syracuse will come in to a sold out RBC Center Saturday evening. State pushed Syracuse to the brink last season at the Carrier Dome, eventually falling 65-59 to the then eighth ranked Orange.
The Orange should be the top-ranked team in the country when they get to Raleigh following losses by number two Ohio State to Kansas and then number one Kentucky to Indiana- a team the Pack led by seven late in the second half before falling apart a couple weeks ago.
State’s out of conference schedule has been very tough, but these games turn into learning experiences for a young Pack squad learning how to win under a new coaching staff. The strength of schedule for the Pack (deemed the 18th toughest schedule in the country by Rating Percentage Index), and the six wins, has the Pack at an RPI of 57- that’s higher than at any point all of last season.
The RBC Center should be rocking Saturday, and I expect Coach Mark Gottfried to have the Pack ready to play tough for a full 40 minutes against the Orange, who will be playing their first game this season outside the state of New York.
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