Key early non-conference wins lift ACC's stature

Paul Myerberg | USA TODAY Sports

The calendar turns, a season begins, yet one fact is the same: Every major conference in college football is chasing the Southeastern Conference, winner of seven national championships in a row and the favorite to claim another in Pasadena, Calif., in January.

Through two weeks, however, the Atlantic Coast Conference has staked claim for being worthy of inclusion in the championship conversation — and done so at the SEC's expense, helping the ACC gain a large measure of national recognition during non-conference play.

ACC teams have notched two marquee victories against highly ranked SEC opposition during the first two weeks of the season: Clemson topped then-No. 5 Georgia on Aug. 31, greatly bolstering the Tigers' title hopes, and Miami (Fla.) upended then-No. 9 Florida in Saturday's key in-state rivalry.

"I think any time you win games against top-10 competition, from whatever conference it comes from, it's very meaningful," ACC Commissioner John Swofford told USA TODAY Sports. "We're at a point and time right now where the SEC, because of their run of national championships, it's obviously very favorably perceived. And we share a lot of the same geography. So when you have wins against an SEC top-10 team, it's meaningful both regionally and nationally."

The league hasn't been perfect: The year's opening weekend saw Virginia Tech lose to Alabama and North Carolina to South Carolina, dealing the ACC two defeats against ranked SEC competition to go with its two wins. But the victories far outweigh the losses; the victories greatly bolster the national perception of a league hungry for a spot next to the SEC, Pac-12 and Big Ten in the FBS pecking order.

"We have a long way to go as a program, and certainly as a team this year," Miami coach Al Golden said, "but I think it's great that we have multiple teams ranked."

The ACC's message heading into the season centered on the league's depth, particularly in the Coastal Division. Now, the conference can tout depth — as many as 10 teams could reach the postseason — and three very viable national contenders: Clemson, Miami and Florida State.

"I've been saying it since I arrived: We have to do our part for the ACC to take that next jump," Golden said. "Obviously, Clemson and Florida State the last two years have made that jump and now we have to do our part."

Clemson, No. 5 in this week's USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll, will face No. 9 Florida State on Oct. 19, in a game with great importance inside and outside the ACC. Even with a loss, however, one of those Atlantic Division rivals could move into BCS play — with the winner earning the conference's automatic bid and the loser landing an at-large invitation. Never in the BCS era, which began in 1998 and ends this year, has the ACC sent two teams to the BCS.

"I think our best teams are in the national picture, and I believe that will continue to be the case as the season moves on," Swofford said. "But with Clemson, Florida State and Miami right now, to watch those programs come back into the national picture is really a terrific thing for those programs and for our league."