ACC may not be as dreadful as everyone projected

Florida State looks far more imposing with Xavier Lee behind center. Marc Serota/Getty Images

MAILBAG Have questions or feedback? E-mail Bill Trocchi. Your name: Your e-mail address: Your home town: Enter your question:

Despite the addition of Miami, Virginia Tech and Boston College, the ACC has regressed in recent seasons rather than become one of the elite football conferences. But last week, the conference took a nice step forward on two fronts thanks to Florida State and Maryland. Midnight madness can be put on hold in the hoops-crazy conference, at least temporarily.

Florida State's fall from the elite has been well-documented, but the Seminoles came up with a big win against Alabama, a team on the rise that is expecting to compete for an SEC title in a short time under coach Nick Saban. The Crimson Tide knocked off Arkansas and lost to Georgia in overtime leading up to the FSU game, showing that in Year One, St. Nick has the Tide right in the thick of the SEC. Meanwhile, Florida State entered the game at 2-1 but hadn't looked overly impressive in either win. The neutral site matchup in Jacksonville was supposed to feature one program ('Bama) on the rise leaving behind another (FSU) on the decline.

But Florida State has always been able to play a little defense, and for 55 minutes, the Seminoles blanked Saban's bunch. Alabama managed two late touchdowns that cut the deficit to seven each time, but Bobby Bowden walked away with a win that showed his team and his league are not finished yet.

Meanwhile in New Jersey, Maryland shook off a choke-job loss to Wake Forest and earned another notch for the ACC with a win over No. 10 Rutgers. Backup quarterback Chris Turner came off the bench and guided the Terps to the upset after Jordan Steffy was injured. It was the Terps' first road win against a top 10 team since 1990. After a quiet nine-win season in 2006, perhaps Ralph Friedgren is getting his team back to where he had it when he first took over in 2001.

Combine this with a resurgent Miami, front-running Boston College, solid Virginia Tech and a surprising 4-1 Virginia, and the ACC may have been buried prematurely, especially by this space. Georgia Tech and Clemson are potential Top 25ers, and even Duke won at Northwestern a few weeks back. On a weekend that caused us to reevaluate everything we thought we knew, the ACC may be the league that needs the most re-examination of all.

1. SEC

Last week: 1

The skinny: No, the SEC has not done much in the non-conference department to date. LSU's 48-7 whipping of Virginia Tech is the best win on the docket, and Auburn's 23-13 escape against Kansas State is looking better. But how can the SEC not be No 1 when there are six teams in SI.com's revamped top 25 this week and nine teams among the top 33? No other conference currently has more than six. So while I wish the SEC could point to more wins like Kentucky's over Louisville and Georgia's over Oklahoma St., the sheer depth of the league keeps it in the top spot for now.

2. Pac-10

Last week: 2

The skinny: Stewart Mandel stated the Cal-Oregon game was the most compelling game of the season to date and it truly was a great showcase for the Pac-10. In the preseason, the perception was the league was USC and a bunch of other teams, but now the Pac-10 boasts three top-10 team. No other league is as strong at the top and whoever of these three emerges will probably be in the national championship game. Where the league comes up short is its bottom four teams: Oregon State, Arizona, Washington State and Stanford. These teams are all struggling to find a rhythm this season and are not a threat to pull a Mississippi State-at-Auburn type of upset that the SEC has seen.

3. Big 12

Last week: 3

The skinny: It may be strange to see the Big 12 not fall the week after Oklahoma and Texas lost, but both were beaten by conference foes. The Big 12 North suddenly looks formidable again, and not because of Nebraska. Colorado pulled off its impressive upset of Oklahoma, Kansas State won at Texas by 20 and had Auburn on the ropes in its only loss and Missouri is 4-0 with two BCS conference wins (Illinois, Ole Miss). Throw in an undefeated and heretofore dominant Kansas team that has outscored its four opponents 214-23, and suddenly the Big 12 North may challenge the SEC East as the top division in college football. And, um, Texas and Oklahoma are in the Big 12 South.

4. ACC

Last week: 6

The skinny: As mentioned above, Florida State and Maryland scored big wins and helped the conference even its BCS non-conference record at 7-7 for the season. Virginia pounded Pittsburgh by 30 to help give the league nine teams in SI.com's top 50. Georgia Tech stepped up just as the season appeared to be slipping away and beat a very solid Clemson team. Duke, North Carolina and N.C. State will prevent the league from rising any higher, but the rest of the league is capable of stepping up and stinging anyone on any weekend.

1 of 2