(06-28-2022 02:16 PM)Wedge Wrote:  

(06-28-2022 01:44 PM)Nerdlinger Wrote:  Definitely some surprising choices here, but mostly makes sense. Bear in mind for all of you "end of the world" types that this is only for 2023-2026. They could easily swap things around later.

Not easily. Inertia usually rules in these things. Not impossible to change, but not likely, either.

I got to agree. What would be the impetus to change it? Is there anything that really doesn't work with this setup that will have a school or two up in arms after the four year rotation is complete? You can finagle things here and there at the margins, but if you restore one rivalry, you take away another of equal footing. That's just the nature of 3-5-5.

If you were to make marginal moves, I'd go VaTech/UL and Pitt/UVa. But it's the same... more or less. There just wasn't enough room to bridge something like UL/Pitt while preserving the cross pollination between new and old ACC guard.

I'm really curious what a 16 team 3-6-6 rotation would look like with ND in the mix. We are about to find out (in all likelihood) with the SEC. The B1G has the biggest challenge with 3-5-5, or maybe easier perhaps, if some of the less relevant B1G schools are willing to compromise.

(06-28-2022 11:02 AM)Stugray2 Wrote:  I don't think Louisville is anyone's rival. Shoehorning them in broke up a few rivalries. I think the other missing ones are cascading effects and ADs who don't really have a great grasp on tradition. But overall a reasonable result.

Tally of all FBS:

AAC, Big 12 don't have divisions, and won't start them (Big 12 started discussing them when the ground rules changed, so tabled it).
CUSA forced to drop them this year (2022) due to realignment.
Pac-12 dropped divisions immediately for the 2022 season, will adjust the schedule for 2023 onward.
The ACC, MWC and SEC will drop divisions starting in 2023 and the latter two are working on schedule layouts, while the ACC has already done so.

The MAC and SBC are keeping divisions.

The Big Ten is the only conference to not yet make a decision.

Louisville really doesn’t fit the ACC (geographically, socially, historically, culturally, etc) , probably one of the few bad decisions the ACC has made in my opinion.

I would have given Louisville its 3 closest geographic rivals: Pitt (dropping VA Tech), VA Tech (dropping Pitt), Wake Forest (dropping GA Tech)

Virginia and Miami both replace Louisville with GA Tech
GA Tech replaces Louisville and Wake Forest with Virginia and Miami
Pitt and VA Tech is no longer annual

Wake probably wouldnt have gone for that though. I bet getting GA Tech and a frequent trip to Atlanta was the constellation for missing out on both UNC and State

(06-28-2022 03:22 PM)Sitting bull Wrote:  

(06-28-2022 11:02 AM)Stugray2 Wrote:  I don't think Louisville is anyone's rival. Shoehorning them in broke up a few rivalries. I think the other missing ones are cascading effects and ADs who don't really have a great grasp on tradition. But overall a reasonable result.

Tally of all FBS:

AAC, Big 12 don't have divisions, and won't start them (Big 12 started discussing them when the ground rules changed, so tabled it).
CUSA forced to drop them this year (2022) due to realignment.
Pac-12 dropped divisions immediately for the 2022 season, will adjust the schedule for 2023 onward.
The ACC, MWC and SEC will drop divisions starting in 2023 and the latter two are working on schedule layouts, while the ACC has already done so.

The MAC and SBC are keeping divisions.

The Big Ten is the only conference to not yet make a decision.

Louisville really doesn’t fit the ACC (geographically, socially, historically, culturally, etc) , probably one of the few bad decisions the ACC has made in my opinion.

The only real alternative considered by the ACC in place of Louisville was UConn. UConn was viewed by some as a better cultural fit due to its superior academic profile. Cincinnati lobbied pretty aggressively, but never really got any traction. It was straight up UConn vs. Louisville.

The consensus seemed to be that Louisville was selected because of its much stronger football resume. I agree completely with the decision. The conference needed and continues to need as much football strength as it can find.

Who else do you think the ACC should have considered? WVU, also a poor cultural fit but a good geographic one, had just signed a GOR with the B12 and was off the table. They might be available now, FWIW.

(06-28-2022 03:40 PM)orangefan Wrote:  

(06-28-2022 03:22 PM)Sitting bull Wrote:  

(06-28-2022 11:02 AM)Stugray2 Wrote:  I don't think Louisville is anyone's rival. Shoehorning them in broke up a few rivalries. I think the other missing ones are cascading effects and ADs who don't really have a great grasp on tradition. But overall a reasonable result.

Tally of all FBS:

AAC, Big 12 don't have divisions, and won't start them (Big 12 started discussing them when the ground rules changed, so tabled it).
CUSA forced to drop them this year (2022) due to realignment.
Pac-12 dropped divisions immediately for the 2022 season, will adjust the schedule for 2023 onward.
The ACC, MWC and SEC will drop divisions starting in 2023 and the latter two are working on schedule layouts, while the ACC has already done so.

The MAC and SBC are keeping divisions.

The Big Ten is the only conference to not yet make a decision.

Louisville really doesn’t fit the ACC (geographically, socially, historically, culturally, etc) , probably one of the few bad decisions the ACC has made in my opinion.

The only real alternative considered by the ACC in place of Louisville was UConn. UConn was viewed by some as a better cultural fit due to its superior academic profile. Cincinnati lobbied pretty aggressively, but never really got any traction. It was straight up UConn vs. Louisville.

The consensus seemed to be that Louisville was selected because of its much stronger football resume. I agree completely with the decision. The conference needed and continues to need as much football strength as it can find.

Its crazy to think it would have been WVU if WVU hadn't pushed so hard to get the Big 12 spot Louisville thought they had

Correct me if I'm wrong, but the next ESPN look-in for the ACC contract is 2027, yes? By then, we should know if the SEC goes to 9 conference games and PAC-12 stays at 9. The ACC by that point could follow to go up to 9 conference games in hopes of extra money, and then adapt their divisionless format to a 5-4-4 format to ensure everyone gets the rivalries they desire annually and still play everyone else every other year.

(06-28-2022 03:26 PM)solohawks Wrote:  I would have given Louisville its 3 closest geographic rivals: Pitt (dropping VA Tech), VA Tech (dropping Pitt), Wake Forest (dropping GA Tech)

Virginia and Miami both replace Louisville with GA Tech
GA Tech replaces Louisville and Wake Forest with Virginia and Miami
Pitt and VA Tech is no longer annual

Wake probably wouldnt have gone for that though. I bet getting GA Tech and a frequent trip to Atlanta was the constellation for missing out on both UNC and State

Another reason why these things aren't easy. Everyone has their own interests. For example: Pitt has absolutely no reason to want to play Louisville every year. Presumably, Pitt already didn't get what they wanted; the other teams in the northeast get an annual game with a Florida team, but Pitt doesn't get that and doesn't even get Georgia Tech for an annual game in the next-best ACC state for recruiting. And other teams have their own gripes, as pointed out in other comments here.

Good start but would have preferred a 5-4-4 model. Hoping that the shunned matchups are just played OOC. Duke-GT, Duke-UVA, etc. That's the solution regardless. No reason to play Sun Belt teams instead of rivals.

(06-28-2022 03:43 PM)solohawks Wrote:  

(06-28-2022 03:40 PM)orangefan Wrote:  

(06-28-2022 03:22 PM)Sitting bull Wrote:  

(06-28-2022 11:02 AM)Stugray2 Wrote:  I don't think Louisville is anyone's rival. Shoehorning them in broke up a few rivalries. I think the other missing ones are cascading effects and ADs who don't really have a great grasp on tradition. But overall a reasonable result.

Tally of all FBS:

AAC, Big 12 don't have divisions, and won't start them (Big 12 started discussing them when the ground rules changed, so tabled it).
CUSA forced to drop them this year (2022) due to realignment.
Pac-12 dropped divisions immediately for the 2022 season, will adjust the schedule for 2023 onward.
The ACC, MWC and SEC will drop divisions starting in 2023 and the latter two are working on schedule layouts, while the ACC has already done so.

The MAC and SBC are keeping divisions.

The Big Ten is the only conference to not yet make a decision.

Louisville really doesn’t fit the ACC (geographically, socially, historically, culturally, etc) , probably one of the few bad decisions the ACC has made in my opinion.

The only real alternative considered by the ACC in place of Louisville was UConn. UConn was viewed by some as a better cultural fit due to its superior academic profile. Cincinnati lobbied pretty aggressively, but never really got any traction. It was straight up UConn vs. Louisville.

The consensus seemed to be that Louisville was selected because of its much stronger football resume. I agree completely with the decision. The conference needed and continues to need as much football strength as it can find.

Its crazy to think it would have been WVU if WVU hadn't pushed so hard to get the Big 12 spot Louisville thought they had

I don’t think that we can assume that to be the case at all. The ACC has had a ton of pushback against adding WVU over the years, primarily over academic reasons. There was a lot of debate on whether the ACC would even find Louisville academically acceptable… and they’re over 60 spots higher than WVU in the US News rankings. Any WVU to the ACC talk is one of the classic cases of the fans thinking that it’s a perfect fit for athletic reasons while the university presidents don’t think that it’s a fit at all for institutional reasons. WVU is ultimately in the one power conference that would accept them.

These protected rivalries definitely signal that the other NC schools are not as deeply attached to WF as they have been in the past. I wonder if it indicates they would be open to membership in a conference without the demon deacons?

I figured Pitt’s would be Syracuse, Louisville and Miami (I preferred VT over Miami so I am really happy there). Pitt VaTech has the potential to be great. I am not happy with Pitt’s BC matchup that no one cares about. A trip Boston will take longer than any other school minus the Florida schools and it’s just a blah matchup. I figured, and preferred, Louisville, as I’m sure most Pitt fans would. Definitely a few head scratchers with the lineup. The GT/Louisville, Syracuse/FSU & Wake/VT “&” GT blow me away! And no Miami/VaTech??? They’re missing on that one. Overall, I’m extremely happy to see the divisions go away and in the long run perhaps the should of could of would of’s will be forgotten.

(06-28-2022 04:44 PM)Fighting Muskie Wrote:  These protected rivalries definitely signal that the other NC schools are not as deeply attached to WF as they have been in the past. I wonder if it indicates they would be open to membership in a conference without the demon deacons?

Well, Wake wasn't getting one of UNC's slots over Duke, NCSU, or UVA. So the only surprise for me regarding Wake is that they didn't get NCSU.

(06-28-2022 04:44 PM)Fighting Muskie Wrote:  These protected rivalries definitely signal that the other NC schools are not as deeply attached to WF as they have been in the past. I wonder if it indicates they would be open to membership in a conference without the demon deacons?

I wouldn’t read much into it on that front. Whether the NC schools would want to leave the ACC wouldn’t have to do with any affinity or lack thereof for Wake Forest. It doesn’t shock me that WF might be simply the #4 rival for UNC and NC State in a setup where only 3 rivals can be protected.

(06-28-2022 04:48 PM)Pitt2003 Wrote:  I figured Pitt’s would be Syracuse, Louisville and Miami (I preferred VT over Miami so I am really happy there). Pitt VaTech has the potential to be great. I am not happy with Pitt’s BC matchup that no one cares about. A trip Boston will take longer than any other school minus the Florida schools and it’s just a blah matchup. I figured, and preferred, Louisville, as I’m sure most Pitt fans would. Definitely a few head scratchers with the lineup. The GT/Louisville, Syracuse/FSU & Wake/VT “&” GT blow me away! And no Miami/VaTech??? They’re missing on that one. Overall, I’m extremely happy to see the divisions go away and in the long run perhaps the should of could of would of’s will be forgotten.

I’m disappointed that Miami-VT rivalry didn’t make the cut. They’ve had some good games over the years.

WF should hold a neutral site OOC game annually in Charlotte, alternating NC St and UNC as their OOC opponent.

(06-28-2022 11:44 AM)bullet Wrote:  The SEC has not made a decision to change their format.

Yes, true, it's not official ... yet. I will concede they could keep divisions until Texas and Oklahoma join, which could be 2026. But from what's been leaked it's clear they wont have divisions when Texas and Oklahoma are in the conference. But we don't know what they will do prior, .

Move the SEC to the TBD category, even though we know where they are going.

(06-28-2022 10:22 AM)Frank the Tank Wrote:  My main surprise is the choice of Louisville’s opponents (with none of the schools that they previously played with in the old Big East).

Syracuse-FSU is also interesting. While I was certain that Miami was going to get at least one Northern school (which I predicted to be BC and that turned out to be the case) as an opponent (as Miami is a school that really has a Northeastern student body that happens to be located in Florida), I didn’t see that need for FSU. I thought FSU-GT would be an annual game in order to preserve a Florida/Georgia line contest.

Syracuse really needed that Florida presence I’m really happy my orange got FSU. Good pickup for SU fb

(06-28-2022 05:08 PM)PusherT Wrote:  

(06-28-2022 10:22 AM)Frank the Tank Wrote:  My main surprise is the choice of Louisville’s opponents (with none of the schools that they previously played with in the old Big East).

Syracuse-FSU is also interesting. While I was certain that Miami was going to get at least one Northern school (which I predicted to be BC and that turned out to be the case) as an opponent (as Miami is a school that really has a Northeastern student body that happens to be located in Florida), I didn’t see that need for FSU. I thought FSU-GT would be an annual game in order to preserve a Florida/Georgia line contest.

Syracuse really needed that Florida presence I’m really happy my orange got FSU. Good pickup for SU fb

Yes, FSU/Syracuse was one of the biggest surprises among the protected matchups the league decided on, along with Duke/NCSU and GT/Louisville.

(06-28-2022 05:00 PM)Stugray2 Wrote:  

(06-28-2022 11:44 AM)bullet Wrote:  The SEC has not made a decision to change their format.

Yes, true, it's not official ... yet. I will concede they could keep divisions until Texas and Oklahoma join, which could be 2026. But from what's been leaked it's clear they wont have divisions when Texas and Oklahoma are in the conference. But we don't know what they will do prior, .

Move the SEC to the TBD category, even though we know where they are going.

No later than 2025.

(06-28-2022 04:55 PM)Fighting Muskie Wrote:  WF should hold a neutral site OOC game annually in Charlotte, alternating NC St and UNC as their OOC opponent.

Well, playing UNC every 2 years out of 4 is way better than what Wake had before (2 out of 12). So I expect this is on the whole an improvement for Wake.