http://www.cbssports.com/college-footbal...nual-game/

They seem to think so

Actually, it specifically says it was not among the country's best rivalries. However, it does say it is the nation's best annual game. Then it goes through a whole convoluted explanation that essentially means that both teams are really good every year.

It is not a very interesting article. However, it is good for the ACC so I will take it. It's the type of pablum you typically see associated with SEC preseason articles.

I think the question will be can they become a rivalry on the level of FSU/Miami. The potential to have an annual event which pits two top 5 teams would no doubt be a feather in the ACC's cap. OSU/Mich have not had that for decades. Neither Texas/OU, USC/UCLA, UGa/UF. The closet we have seen is LSU/Bama or Bama/Auburn. The ACC's potential to have top 5, top 10 rivalry games is huge. FSU/Clemson is in that position where FSU/Miami once were. FSU/Miami can actual occur if Richt can get the Canes back to that lofty perch. ND/Miami looks like another one. Clemson/ND and FSU/ND just produced classic games.

I think it is. I also think that Louisville, Clemson and FSU games will be the best triad of college football games as well.

(07-27-2016 08:34 AM)EvilVodka Wrote:  http://www.cbssports.com/college-footbal...nual-game/

They seem to think so

Question for the OP -- How did you get "Best Annual Rivalry" from "Best Annual Game"...?

(07-27-2016 09:29 AM)Wilkie01 Wrote:  I think it is. I also think that Louisville, Clemson and FSU games will be the best triad of college football games as well.

Louisville has a long way to go be included in that.

Boston College vs Wake Forest = #therivalry

(07-27-2016 10:12 AM)WakeForestRanger Wrote:  

(07-27-2016 09:29 AM)Wilkie01 Wrote:  I think it is. I also think that Louisville, Clemson and FSU games will be the best triad of college football games as well.

Louisville has a long way to go be included in that.

U of L isn't there lol win the ACC and maybe we will start talking

I think the BC and NC State and G Tech games with Clemson most every season are entertaining even though Clemson prevails most of the time against BC and NC State.

regarding FSU, I believe Clemson is up 7-6 on FSU over the last 13 seasons and i believe most of the games have been close. it is probably the most competitive annual big game at the moment. I think Oregon vs Stanford has been pretty good. LSU vs Alabama is pretty overrated.

I still think The Battle of I-85 is the ACC's signature dish. GT vs Clemson is typically a great game even if one or both teams has the derps in the given year.

I bet if you were to count the number of ACC conference games on ESPN Classic the last 20 years GT-Clemson would be #1.

10-19-1996 - GT 25 at Clemson 28 --> FSN Classic Replay
09-27-1997 - GT 23 vs Clemson 20 --> ESPN Classic
11-12-1998 - GT 24 at Clemson 21 --> ESPN Classic
11-13-1999 - GT 45 vs Clemson 42 --> ESPN Classic
10-28-2000 - GT 31 at Clemson 28 --> ESPN Classic
09-29-2001 - GT 44 vs Clemson 47 --> ESPN Classic (Damn you Woody)
09-14-2002 - GT 19 at Clemson 24 --> FSN Classic Replay
09-20-2003 - GT 3 vs Clemson 39 [Welcome to Chan Gailey football everybody]
09-11-2004 - GT 28 at Clemson 24 --> FSN Classic Replay
10-29-2005 - GT 10 vs Clemson 9 [Chantastic offense does just enough with Tenuta blitz defense]
10-21-2006 - GT 7 at Clemson 31 [Most anti-climatic Gameday ever]
09-29-2007 - GT 13 vs Clemson 3
10-18-2008 - GT 21 at Clemson 17
09-10-2009 - GT 30 vs Clemson 27 --> ESPN Classic
12-05-2009 - GT 39 vs Clemson 34 (ACC-CG Tampa, FL) --> ESPN Classic
10-23-2010 - GT 13 at Clemson 27
10-29-2011 - GT 31 vs Clemson 17
10-06-2012 - GT 31 at Clemson 47
11-14-2013 - GT 31 at Clemson 55 --> Thanks ACC/DRad for the scheduling shaft of two road games in a row
11-15-2014 - GT 28 vs Clemson 6 [The one time Clemson Clemson'ed hard against GT]
10-10-2015 - GT 24 at Clemson 43

(07-28-2016 12:10 PM)georgia_tech_swagger Wrote:  I still think The Battle of I-85 is the ACC's signature dish. GT vs Clemson is typically a great game even if one or both teams has the derps in the given year.

Kinda apples/oranges, IMO. GT-Clemson is an absolutely, necessary, non-negotiable annual rivalry. It has been played ~84 times, more than any other Clemson opponent that doesn't have a chicken for a mascot. I make myself available to watch it every year. The long history of the rivalry makes it a pretty salty one, in my experience.

The FSU game does not have near as much history and doesn't seem to have as much bad blood. I always got along well with FSU fans and there seemed to be a mutual respect among two very football-centric fan bases. The FSU game has developed into a rivalry because it has had huge implications for the conference and national title race. It has a "big game atmosphere" similar to Bama-LSU in the SEC. The winner has won the division for the past 5 or 6 years and we all know what they have done on the national scene the past few years.

Whatever happens with divisional realignment, I would hope that Clemson-GT and Clemson-FSU would be preserved. NCSU is another that should be played every year, but not as critical as GT and FSU.

(07-28-2016 12:28 PM)ren.hoek Wrote:  

(07-28-2016 12:10 PM)georgia_tech_swagger Wrote:  I still think The Battle of I-85 is the ACC's signature dish. GT vs Clemson is typically a great game even if one or both teams has the derps in the given year.

Kinda apples/oranges, IMO. GT-Clemson is an absolutely, necessary, non-negotiable annual rivalry. It has been played ~84 times, more than any other Clemson opponent that doesn't have a chicken for a mascot. I make myself available to watch it every year. The long history of the rivalry makes it a pretty salty one, in my experience.

The FSU game does not have near as much history and doesn't seem to have as much bad blood. I always got along well with FSU fans and there seemed to be a mutual respect among two very football-centric fan bases. The FSU game has developed into a rivalry because it has had huge implications for the conference and national title race. It has a "big game atmosphere" similar to Bama-LSU in the SEC. The winner has won the division for the past 5 or 6 years and we all know what they have done on the national scene the past few years.

Whatever happens with divisional realignment, I would hope that Clemson-GT and Clemson-FSU would be preserved. NCSU is another that should be played every year, but not as critical as GT and FSU.

The "Clemsoned hard" comment was more about injuries. Everyone knew if Watson got injured we were screwed. Throw in a QB that throws two pick six and it's a bad evening. I agree in my mind Clemson's rivals are in this order...

1) South Carolina
Big gap
2) GT
2b) FSU
4) NCST

2004 was by far and away the most gut-wrenching, snatch defeat from the jaws of victory moment. Sadly a trademark of the pathetic Tommy Bowden era. Clemson was up by 10 with about 3:30 left. GT drives down the field and scores to pull within 3. Clemson gets the ball back and tries to run out the clock. On first down, we got 9 yards and 33 inches. Second down QB sneak goes nowhere. On third down, RB Yusef Kelly goes over the top of the line and lands about 2 yards past the line of scrimmage. Problem was that the ball was laying on the turf behind the line of scrimmage. Clemson recovers and lines up for a punt with less than a minute remaining. All they have to do is get off a decent punt and it would have been really difficult for GT to get down the field in the time remaining. The snap flies 10 feet above the punter's head and GT recovers at the 10. Reggie Ball hits Calvin Johnson in the corner of the end zone on 1st down. In order to lose this game, Clemson had to do about 10 things wrong. Take any one of them away and they probably win. But they managed to do every single one of those 10 things wrong and lose the game.

Clemson proceeded to wallow in self pity for the next few games for a pathetic, whimpering, bed-wetting 1-4 start. Bowden's teams had no toughness, no resiliency, and repeatedly folded under pressure. He was a very good recruiter, but a terrible coach who hired other terrible coaches and refused to part with them when it was obviously needed. I was Swinney's biggest skeptic, but he has more than proven himself.

(07-28-2016 12:35 PM)Ewglenn Wrote:  

(07-28-2016 12:28 PM)ren.hoek Wrote:  

(07-28-2016 12:10 PM)georgia_tech_swagger Wrote:  I still think The Battle of I-85 is the ACC's signature dish. GT vs Clemson is typically a great game even if one or both teams has the derps in the given year.

Kinda apples/oranges, IMO. GT-Clemson is an absolutely, necessary, non-negotiable annual rivalry. It has been played ~84 times, more than any other Clemson opponent that doesn't have a chicken for a mascot. I make myself available to watch it every year. The long history of the rivalry makes it a pretty salty one, in my experience.

The FSU game does not have near as much history and doesn't seem to have as much bad blood. I always got along well with FSU fans and there seemed to be a mutual respect among two very football-centric fan bases. The FSU game has developed into a rivalry because it has had huge implications for the conference and national title race. It has a "big game atmosphere" similar to Bama-LSU in the SEC. The winner has won the division for the past 5 or 6 years and we all know what they have done on the national scene the past few years.

Whatever happens with divisional realignment, I would hope that Clemson-GT and Clemson-FSU would be preserved. NCSU is another that should be played every year, but not as critical as GT and FSU.

The "Clemsoned hard" comment was more about injuries. Everyone knew if Watson got injured we were screwed. Throw in a QB that throws two pick six and it's a bad evening. I agree in my mind Clemson's rivals are in this order...

1) South Carolina
Big gap
2) GT
2b) FSU
4) NCST

(07-28-2016 12:55 PM)ren.hoek Wrote:  Bowden's teams had no toughness, no resiliency, and repeatedly folded under pressure. He was a very good recruiter, but a terrible coach who hired other terrible coaches and refused to part with them when it was obviously needed. I was Swinney's biggest skeptic, but he has more than proven himself.

Tommy Bowden was what we needed at the time we hired him, we just held on to him for far too long. He rebuilt recruiting pipelines that had been closed since the Hatfield era and he forced the Clemson and IPTAY administrations to realize how far behind we were in the facilities race.

I often feel that the best thing that could have happened is after the miraculous midseason turn around of 2003 someone else had came in and stole him away.

(07-28-2016 12:55 PM)ren.hoek Wrote:  2004 was by far and away the most gut-wrenching, snatch defeat from the jaws of victory moment.

I had given up on the game and was driving back home from my GF's house. I nearly drove off the road when the long snapper tried to play croquet with the football. (It was a dribbler snap that bounced end over end wildly ... not airmail as you indicated)

thanks for clearing up that excruciatingly painful memory

(07-29-2016 01:17 PM)georgia_tech_swagger Wrote:  

(07-28-2016 12:55 PM)ren.hoek Wrote:  2004 was by far and away the most gut-wrenching, snatch defeat from the jaws of victory moment.

I had given up on the game and was driving back home from my GF's house. I nearly drove off the road when the long snapper tried to play croquet with the football. (It was a dribbler snap that bounced end over end wildly ... not airmail as you indicated)

(07-28-2016 12:55 PM)ren.hoek Wrote:  2004 was by far and away the most gut-wrenching, snatch defeat from the jaws of victory moment. Sadly a trademark of the pathetic Tommy Bowden era. Clemson was up by 10 with about 3:30 left. GT drives down the field and scores to pull within 3. Clemson gets the ball back and tries to run out the clock. On first down, we got 9 yards and 33 inches. Second down QB sneak goes nowhere. On third down, RB Yusef Kelly goes over the top of the line and lands about 2 yards past the line of scrimmage. Problem was that the ball was laying on the turf behind the line of scrimmage. Clemson recovers and lines up for a punt with less than a minute remaining. All they have to do is get off a decent punt and it would have been really difficult for GT to get down the field in the time remaining. The snap flies 10 feet above the punter's head and GT recovers at the 10. Reggie Ball hits Calvin Johnson in the corner of the end zone on 1st down. In order to lose this game, Clemson had to do about 10 things wrong. Take any one of them away and they probably win. But they managed to do every single one of those 10 things wrong and lose the game.

Clemson proceeded to wallow in self pity for the next few games for a pathetic, whimpering, bed-wetting 1-4 start. Bowden's teams had no toughness, no resiliency, and repeatedly folded under pressure. He was a very good recruiter, but a terrible coach who hired other terrible coaches and refused to part with them when it was obviously needed. I was Swinney's biggest skeptic, but he has more than proven himself.

(07-28-2016 12:35 PM)Ewglenn Wrote:  

(07-28-2016 12:28 PM)ren.hoek Wrote:  

(07-28-2016 12:10 PM)georgia_tech_swagger Wrote:  I still think The Battle of I-85 is the ACC's signature dish. GT vs Clemson is typically a great game even if one or both teams has the derps in the given year.

Kinda apples/oranges, IMO. GT-Clemson is an absolutely, necessary, non-negotiable annual rivalry. It has been played ~84 times, more than any other Clemson opponent that doesn't have a chicken for a mascot. I make myself available to watch it every year. The long history of the rivalry makes it a pretty salty one, in my experience.

The FSU game does not have near as much history and doesn't seem to have as much bad blood. I always got along well with FSU fans and there seemed to be a mutual respect among two very football-centric fan bases. The FSU game has developed into a rivalry because it has had huge implications for the conference and national title race. It has a "big game atmosphere" similar to Bama-LSU in the SEC. The winner has won the division for the past 5 or 6 years and we all know what they have done on the national scene the past few years.

Whatever happens with divisional realignment, I would hope that Clemson-GT and Clemson-FSU would be preserved. NCSU is another that should be played every year, but not as critical as GT and FSU.

The "Clemsoned hard" comment was more about injuries. Everyone knew if Watson got injured we were screwed. Throw in a QB that throws two pick six and it's a bad evening. I agree in my mind Clemson's rivals are in this order...

1) South Carolina
Big gap
2) GT
2b) FSU
4) NCST

I promise you couldn't have been more critical than I was. I literally wanted to puke when I heard of the hire. Obviously I have gladly ate everything I said about him.

(07-29-2016 02:45 PM)Ewglenn Wrote:  

(07-28-2016 12:55 PM)ren.hoek Wrote:  2004 was by far and away the most gut-wrenching, snatch defeat from the jaws of victory moment. Sadly a trademark of the pathetic Tommy Bowden era. Clemson was up by 10 with about 3:30 left. GT drives down the field and scores to pull within 3. Clemson gets the ball back and tries to run out the clock. On first down, we got 9 yards and 33 inches. Second down QB sneak goes nowhere. On third down, RB Yusef Kelly goes over the top of the line and lands about 2 yards past the line of scrimmage. Problem was that the ball was laying on the turf behind the line of scrimmage. Clemson recovers and lines up for a punt with less than a minute remaining. All they have to do is get off a decent punt and it would have been really difficult for GT to get down the field in the time remaining. The snap flies 10 feet above the punter's head and GT recovers at the 10. Reggie Ball hits Calvin Johnson in the corner of the end zone on 1st down. In order to lose this game, Clemson had to do about 10 things wrong. Take any one of them away and they probably win. But they managed to do every single one of those 10 things wrong and lose the game.

Clemson proceeded to wallow in self pity for the next few games for a pathetic, whimpering, bed-wetting 1-4 start. Bowden's teams had no toughness, no resiliency, and repeatedly folded under pressure. He was a very good recruiter, but a terrible coach who hired other terrible coaches and refused to part with them when it was obviously needed. I was Swinney's biggest skeptic, but he has more than proven himself.

(07-28-2016 12:35 PM)Ewglenn Wrote:  

(07-28-2016 12:28 PM)ren.hoek Wrote:  

(07-28-2016 12:10 PM)georgia_tech_swagger Wrote:  I still think The Battle of I-85 is the ACC's signature dish. GT vs Clemson is typically a great game even if one or both teams has the derps in the given year.

Kinda apples/oranges, IMO. GT-Clemson is an absolutely, necessary, non-negotiable annual rivalry. It has been played ~84 times, more than any other Clemson opponent that doesn't have a chicken for a mascot. I make myself available to watch it every year. The long history of the rivalry makes it a pretty salty one, in my experience.

The FSU game does not have near as much history and doesn't seem to have as much bad blood. I always got along well with FSU fans and there seemed to be a mutual respect among two very football-centric fan bases. The FSU game has developed into a rivalry because it has had huge implications for the conference and national title race. It has a "big game atmosphere" similar to Bama-LSU in the SEC. The winner has won the division for the past 5 or 6 years and we all know what they have done on the national scene the past few years.

Whatever happens with divisional realignment, I would hope that Clemson-GT and Clemson-FSU would be preserved. NCSU is another that should be played every year, but not as critical as GT and FSU.

The "Clemsoned hard" comment was more about injuries. Everyone knew if Watson got injured we were screwed. Throw in a QB that throws two pick six and it's a bad evening. I agree in my mind Clemson's rivals are in this order...

1) South Carolina
Big gap
2) GT
2b) FSU
4) NCST

I promise you couldn't have been more critical than I was. I literally wanted to puke when I heard of the hire. Obviously I have gladly ate everything I said about him.

I was told the weekend of the '08 BC game that unless he fell flat on his face the rest of that season Dabo was probably the full time hire. He made one hell of an impression on the IPTAY folks at a breakfast the week of the GT game after being named interim coach. When I was told this I expressed a lot of reservations and thought we could do much better but the man who was telling me (and others) said "Trust me. He gets it and we will win championships with him at the helm."

Good thing the people making these decisions are a lot smarter than me!

(07-27-2016 09:29 AM)Wilkie01 Wrote:  I think it is. I also think that Louisville, Clemson and FSU games will be the best triad of college football games as well.

To be the man we got to beat the man....
We ain't there yet but we will. So they still the man

Every time we have joined a new league we have rose to the challenge of the conference's best. I don't expect this time to be any different.

We walked into The ACC defending champions in men's basketball, defending champions of the Sugar Bowl, national runner's in women's basketball and fresh of a baseball trip to Omaha.

Our baseball team already became the first undefeated regular season champion in ACC history.

Yes we gave some things to prove and we will. We always have.
CJ

I was so ticked off about Clemson hiring a guy whose resume would fit on a sticky note that I refused to watch them for 2-3 years. My thought was "Clemson isn't a school that needs to take risks on hiring unproven coaches". I figured that we had just given up on big time football. Terry Don Phillips saw something that me and others didn't. Dabo has the mystical it factor, whatever it is. Only problem is how he nearly wet himself after beating Auburn in 2011, which made for an awkward weekend in a house with a 4th generation Auburn graduate

(07-30-2016 09:15 AM)Kaplony Wrote:  

(07-29-2016 02:45 PM)Ewglenn Wrote:  

(07-28-2016 12:55 PM)ren.hoek Wrote:  2004 was by far and away the most gut-wrenching, snatch defeat from the jaws of victory moment. Sadly a trademark of the pathetic Tommy Bowden era. Clemson was up by 10 with about 3:30 left. GT drives down the field and scores to pull within 3. Clemson gets the ball back and tries to run out the clock. On first down, we got 9 yards and 33 inches. Second down QB sneak goes nowhere. On third down, RB Yusef Kelly goes over the top of the line and lands about 2 yards past the line of scrimmage. Problem was that the ball was laying on the turf behind the line of scrimmage. Clemson recovers and lines up for a punt with less than a minute remaining. All they have to do is get off a decent punt and it would have been really difficult for GT to get down the field in the time remaining. The snap flies 10 feet above the punter's head and GT recovers at the 10. Reggie Ball hits Calvin Johnson in the corner of the end zone on 1st down. In order to lose this game, Clemson had to do about 10 things wrong. Take any one of them away and they probably win. But they managed to do every single one of those 10 things wrong and lose the game.

Clemson proceeded to wallow in self pity for the next few games for a pathetic, whimpering, bed-wetting 1-4 start. Bowden's teams had no toughness, no resiliency, and repeatedly folded under pressure. He was a very good recruiter, but a terrible coach who hired other terrible coaches and refused to part with them when it was obviously needed. I was Swinney's biggest skeptic, but he has more than proven himself.

(07-28-2016 12:35 PM)Ewglenn Wrote:  

(07-28-2016 12:28 PM)ren.hoek Wrote:  Kinda apples/oranges, IMO. GT-Clemson is an absolutely, necessary, non-negotiable annual rivalry. It has been played ~84 times, more than any other Clemson opponent that doesn't have a chicken for a mascot. I make myself available to watch it every year. The long history of the rivalry makes it a pretty salty one, in my experience.

The FSU game does not have near as much history and doesn't seem to have as much bad blood. I always got along well with FSU fans and there seemed to be a mutual respect among two very football-centric fan bases. The FSU game has developed into a rivalry because it has had huge implications for the conference and national title race. It has a "big game atmosphere" similar to Bama-LSU in the SEC. The winner has won the division for the past 5 or 6 years and we all know what they have done on the national scene the past few years.

Whatever happens with divisional realignment, I would hope that Clemson-GT and Clemson-FSU would be preserved. NCSU is another that should be played every year, but not as critical as GT and FSU.

The "Clemsoned hard" comment was more about injuries. Everyone knew if Watson got injured we were screwed. Throw in a QB that throws two pick six and it's a bad evening. I agree in my mind Clemson's rivals are in this order...

1) South Carolina
Big gap
2) GT
2b) FSU
4) NCST

I promise you couldn't have been more critical than I was. I literally wanted to puke when I heard of the hire. Obviously I have gladly ate everything I said about him.

I was told the weekend of the '08 BC game that unless he fell flat on his face the rest of that season Dabo was probably the full time hire. He made one hell of an impression on the IPTAY folks at a breakfast the week of the GT game after being named interim coach. When I was told this I expressed a lot of reservations and thought we could do much better but the man who was telling me (and others) said "Trust me. He gets it and we will win championships with him at the helm."

Good thing the people making these decisions are a lot smarter than me!