A Jersey Guy: Shame on ACC
We want to give them the benefit of the doubt in these trying times. But...
The Atlantic Coast Conference has its championship game set.
A marquee rematch between No. 2 Notre Dame and No. 3 Clemson, with the strong possibility of BOTH teams making the CFB Final Four.
Looks good right?
Congrats to the ACC for having a pair of contenders for seats at the Final Four dinner party.
Well, it would be worth applauding, if the ACC had finished ALL of its regular season games among its contending teams.
The SEC has its championship game set as well between No. 1 Alabama and No. 6 Florida.
But as of now both of those teams will play their final regular season games next week.
The ACC, however, decided that it would NOT force Clemson to play a make up of a regular season finale at Florida State, which was "postponed'' a few weeks ago because of COVID-19 issues.
And once it decided to do that, the ACC in the spirit of "fairness'' allowed Notre Dame to cancel its game at Wake Forest.
In a season in which teams and players and fans have given up so much to actually play games, the ACC's decision to "cancel'' games for competitive advantage is somewhere between disappointing and reprehensible.
But in a year in which millions of dollars in revenue have been lost, looking for a financial edge of any kind is also understandable.
Having two teams from the same conference in the Final Four fits into that category doesn't make it right.
It is also blatantly unfair to another conference team.
Miami has an 8-1 record with two games remaining, a home game against North Carolina next Saturday and a road game at Georgia Tech on Dec. 19th, which would have been cancelled if the Hurricanes had qualified to the ACC championship game.
The ACC settled the issue for the Canes by calling off Clemson's game at FSU.
A loss, as unimaginable as that might seem. would have given the Tigers their second defeat which would have eliminated them from the race if Miami beat North Carolina.
The ACC wanted Clemson in the game, which is why it declared Clemson a championship participant if it beat (which it did) Virginia Tech on Saturday night.
This season has been a logistical nightmare for everyone in college football, with games actually being played regarded as major accomplishments, which should be applauded, including the people at the ACC..
The way the ACC and lame-duck commissioner John Swofford handled their championship game match ups is the opposite of that.