We all recognize the SEC is the nation’s top football conference, but many of us outside the SEC like to point out that the SEC is largely top heavy.
Granted, the SEC has more schools that can annually contend for a national title and it is topped by Alabama’s modern dynasty, but a case can be made the match-ups level out after Nick Saban’s Death Star.
At the start of the 2015 season, Duke head coach David Cutcliffe, an Alabama alum with SEC coaching roots, suggested an ACC/SEC football series similar to such various conference matchups in basketball.
As it turned out, Alabama and Clemson of the ACC were the last two teams standing in college football. Alabama held off Clemson 45-40 in the College Football Playoff final.
The limited number of football regular-season games makes a conference challenge series more difficult to arrange than in basketball, but there are seven ACC/SEC regular-season matchups to watch this year.
Interestingly, the ACC could come out ahead, although Alabama isn’t involved to defend the SEC’s honor.
Here is a look at the matchups:
— Sept. 3, Clemson at Auburn. Clemson and Heisman Trophy candidate Deshaun Watson have flipped the field on everyone in the SEC but Alabama, but even Alabama should be worried. The Crimson Tide needed a successful onside kick to keep Watson off the field late in last year’s game.
— Sept. 3, North Carolina vs. Georgia at Atlanta. North Carolina Coach Larry Fedora has elevated his Tar Heels and they challenged Clemson in the ACC Championship game last season. Junior quarterback Mitch Trubisky returns as a backup who saw the field enough to have veteran-like experience. Georgia is in a transition year under new head coach Kirby Smart, formerly Alabama’s defensive coordinator.
— Sept. 5, Florida State vs. Ole Miss at Orlando. Florida State still has questions to answer at quarterback while Ole Miss returns Chad Kelly. But Florida State is considered a preseason Top 5 team and scandal-plagued Ole Miss in the middle of the Top 25.
— Sept. 10, Virginia Tech vs. Tennessee at Bristol, Tenn. Bristol Motor Speedway will be converted to a football field with seats for 160,000. Tennessee is expected to finally be ready for a breakout season under fourth-year coach Butch Jones. Virginia Tech, though, is in a transition year. The legendary Frank Beamer has retired and new coach Justin Fuente may have to start the season with a junior college transfer at quarterback, Jerod Evans.
That gives the ACC a 3-1 edge in early-season games. Miami and Florida haven’t met since 2012, but there are three traditional intra-state rivalries to end the regular season.
Photo by David Blair/Icon Sportswire)
— Nov. 26, Kentucky at Louisville. Louisville is a preseason Top 25 team that can climb higher if sophomore quarterback Lamar Jackson reaches his promise. Kentucky is buried at the bottom of the SEC.
— Nov. 26, South Carolina at Clemson. Retired South Carolina coach Steve Spurrier is no longer around to haunt the Tigers with upsets. Clemson can beat South Carolina for the third-straight year after previously losing five in a row to Spurrier and six of eight.
— Nov. 26, Florida at Florida State. Florida State is still the Sunshine State’s top program. Miami poses more of an imminent threat to the Seminoles’ standing than Florida.
As you can see, the ACC is a preseason favorite in six of those seven matchups.
Yes, an SEC school may win another national title, but the overall matchups are closer than perceived
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