The ACC should be relegated to Group of Five status

ATLANTA, GA SEPTEMBER 14: Georgia Tech's Lucas Johnson (7) runs the ball during the NCAA football game between The Citadel Bulldogs and the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets on September 14th, 2019 at Bobby Dodd Stadium in Atlanta, GA. (Photo by Rich von Biberstein/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

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The ACC continues to have a rough season.

Clemson is the reigning national champion and the No. 1 team in the country, but the rest of the ACC is certified rotten. The ACC is so bad it should be relegated to the Group of Five and the AAC should replace it in the Power 5.

Just how bad has it been for the ACC this year? You only need to look at the box scores for Week 3 to get an idea of how far the conference has fallen.

You already know how bad things are for Florida State who is stuck enduring the rest of the Willie Taggart era until they can buyout his $17 million owed to him. But the rest of the ACC put on a display of football ineptitude that is worthy of relegation.

Pitt attempted a 19-yard field goal in the closing minutes down seven to lose to Penn State. I mean, why wouldn’t you go for the touchdown from the 1-yard line? Total ineptitude by Pitt head coach Pat Narduzzi who will have to face the heat from fans and media after that debacle.

Boston College loses outright to Kansas at home despite being a 20-point favorite. Oh boy, if you thought Narduzzi was feeling the heat, it makes what Steve Addazio is facing like the inside of an igloo in Alaska in January. Addazio’s team got housed by Kansas who lost to Coastal Carolina the week prior when they only scored seven points. That’s a yikes moment.

Georgia Tech loses at home to The Citadel. Okay, this is even worse when you consider The Citadel is running the triple option that Georgia Tech used to run before abandoning it this year under new head coach Geoff Collins. How bad must it be to lose to The Citadel who beat you running your old offense in your own stadium? To make matters worse, the Tech band played The Citadel fight song after the game.

Virginia Tech survives vs. Furman with a seven-point win as 21-point favorites. This is when a win feels like a loss. I thought Justin Fuente would do some really nice things in Blacksburg, but now I’m thinking he might not see 2021.

NC State loses by 17 points to West Virginia who only had 20 points combined in their first two games. West Virginia looked like the worst team in the Big 12 after two weeks with a seven-point win vs. James Madison and losing in a rout to Missouri who lost to Wyoming the week before.

At least they have Clemson. But unlike SEC football fans who use Alabama to prop up the strength of conference when it comes to bowl game and non-conference success, I don’t think there will be many fans of the other ACC programs championing the efforts and accolades of Clemson as a reason the ACC is so strong.

It’s the complete opposite of strong and in an alternate reality would be subjected to relegation for their embarrassing collective performances.