USA TODAY International Edition
Clemson, FSU boost ACC’s shot at double
League rivaling SEC for multiple Playoff crashers
When someone CHARLOTTE asked the question — could two teams from the same conference get into the College Football Playoff? — the gears inside Dabo Swinney’s head began whirring.
His answer was a dissertation on how, if multiple factors aligned, it was possible: selection committee criteria, conference champions with less than stellar résumés, and so on. Only later did the significance sink in.
“Wasn’t nobody asking that eight years ago, I’ll tell you that,” Swinney said later, using his head coaching tenure at Clemson as a frame of reference. “It was more, ‘ Do you think an undefeated ACC team would not get in?’ I think those questions have gone away.”
They’ve been replaced, at least for now, with a different set, more tantalizing than frustrating. At least in July, people see two Atlantic Coast Conference teams loaded with talent and wonder if their Atlantic Division showdown in October might be less a Playoff eliminator than an accelerator.
Clemson or Florida State? How about both?
In the Southeastern Conference, it’s an evergreen theme. ( Only the teams change. This year’s version: Could Alabama and LSU both get in?) To be provocative, you ask if three of the four slots could be filled from the same league — and everyone understands which league you mean, and some seriously consider the proposition as valid.
At the ACC’s media days, as Swinney noted, the topic was fresh, exciting and new. As it popped up in the ballrooms and hallways of Westin Charlotte on Friday, this much was evident: If you want to make ACC folk smile, suggest they — and not their nearby rivals — might be the first conference to put two teams into the four- team bracket.
It’s unlikely for any league. We’re only two years in, but it’s clear the Playoff’s structure rewards conference champions. By definition, one Power Five champion is always left out; the selection committee has seemed reluctant to leave out a second. But the scenario is not too farfetched: Two conference champions finish with at least two losses. In a third conference, two highly ranked divisional rivals play a close game at midseason. The winner goes unbeaten. The other wins out, finishing with only that loss. What happens then? “I have no idea,” Swinney said, “but certainly that’s not an impossible theory.”
Here’s where a change in perception comes in. ACC football does not have the luster of, say, the Southeastern Conference. For almost forever, its football essentially has been a nice opening act for basketball. But its reputation has grown in recent years.
In his opening remarks Thursday morning, Commissioner John Swofford quoted David Teel, the longtime columnist at the
Daily Press of Newport News, Va., who’d written a few days earlier: “The ACC is reveling in the best football stretch in its history and is positioned to sustain that prominence.”
“I couldn’t agree more,” Swofford said, beaming.
It’s mostly because of the accomplishments of Florida State and Clemson, but not only. The conference is pushing a list of statistics commissioners love to tout: bowl wins ( 5- 3 in Bowl Championship Series/ New Year’s Six bowls and Playoff games since 2012, best among Power Five leagues), NFL draft picks ( 115 since 2014 — second only to, well, that wasn’t listed; can you guess which league?).
There’s also a growing roster of impressive coaches; the offseason brought Mark Richt to Miami ( Fla.) and Bronco Mendenhall to Virginia, as well as up- and- comers Dino Babers ( Syracuse) and Justin Fuente ( Virginia Tech).
They join Swinney, Florida State’s Jimbo Fisher, Duke’s David Cutcliffe, Georgia Tech’s Paul Johnson, North Carolina’s Larry Fedora and Pittsburgh’s Pat Narduzzi.
“This is a great league of football,” Fisher said.
Or else it just might be two elite programs without much below ( though watch out for Louisville, which isn’t getting much attention but is bubbling beneath the surface, finishing 2015 hot and bringing 17 starters back). Those associated with the league obviously bristle at the idea, which smacks of the “basketball league” perception.
But say the critics are correct, that the ACC’s overall depth isn’t all that great. It’s not a bad formula for Playoff success — and maybe for getting multiple teams into the field. Never mind the hype, in its best seasons the SEC’s elites feast on the lower tier. Many years, the middle has been just challenging enough to make the best teams look even better.
The ACC’s most important asset is the growing street cred of its two best programs.
Florida State won the last BCS national title and was in the first Playoff a year later. After what’s considered a down year ( 10- 3, including a New Year’s Six bowl appearance), the Seminoles bring back a talented nucleus.
Clemson played Alabama for the national championship in January. Around here, they feel like it’s one that got away, that the better team didn’t necessarily hoist the trophy at the end.
The Tigers are rebuilding on defense, but they bring back Heisman Trophy finalist Deshaun Watson — last week, Alabama’s Nick Saban called the quarterback the best college player since Cam Newton — and a fabulous offense, which is why Swinney was batting away a question Thursday about Saban’s suggestion Clemson should be ranked No. 1 to start the season.
“They don’t deliver a trophy for preseason No. 1 teams,” Swinney said.
But Clemson and Florida State will start out in everyone’s top 10, anyway. Their meeting Oct. 29 in Tallahassee could be one of the biggest games of the season.
“We’re playing at a very high level, two elite programs,” Fisher said.
Swinney added, “The conversation has changed. We’ve kind of had a seat at the table. I think people look at us a little differently.”
A lot could happen, of course, and usually does: injuries, oddly bouncing balls, etc. Maybe Clemson doesn’t adequately replace eight defensive starters. Maybe Florida State doesn’t get good enough quarterback play to take advantage of Heisman- caliber running back Dalvin Cook and a defense that could be among the nation’s best.
But if things go right for the ACC, the Clemson- Florida State winner might be ranked No. 1 in the initial College Football Playoff rankings, which will be released three days after their matchup, and in the driver’s seat for the season’s stretch. And with a month left, the loser would have plenty of time to move back up in the selection committee’s poll.
With a little chaos elsewhere, could both get into the Playoff?
At least on a Friday in July, the question seemed valid. And Swinney nailed the answer, in the form of a question:
“Why not?”