COTTRELL COLUMN: ACC opens with a flop

John Swofford has to be feeling pretty stupid right now.

The ACC Commissioner went for broke and alienated the rest of the college football world five years ago by stealing Boston College, Miami and Virginia Tech from the Big East.

The teams already in the conference had been doing well at that point, and the plan was for the additions to make what was already the nation’s toughest basketball conference the toughest football conference, as well.

FAIL.

Not only have Florida State and Miami gone in the toilet since the expansion, and the conference has produced some of the most laughably bad offenses in the history of football, now they’re just getting humiliated with regularity.

This weekend may have been the coup de grace.

In six games against FBS (formerly Division I-A) competition this weekend, the ACC went 2-4. The two wins came against Baylor and Kent State, who may or may not actually qualify as FBS.

N.C. State, Virginia and Clemson were all humiliated on national television, and North Carolina and Maryland narrowly avoided upsets from McNeese State and Delaware, respectively.

For a conference that once had such lofty aspirations, this has to be rock bottom.

So where do we go from here?

When your preseason favorite is getting owned by the fifth- or sixth-best team in the SEC and one of your divisions looks so bad I’m not sure I can find a historical precedent, it looks like it might be a long year in Tobacco Road land.

Buy your basketball season tickets now!

Adventures In Spread Offense
Two high-profile programs debuted spread offenses Saturday to underwhelming results.

Right here in Auburn, of course, the high-profile quarterback duo of Chris Todd and Kodi Burns combined for a whopping 85 yards passing in the debut of the Tony Franklin System on the Plains in a 34-0 win over Louisiana-Monroe.

Hiccups were to be expected in the first game of a new system, especially with a team recruited to run an entirely different offense.

But such poor passing numbers are worrisome, although if the Tigers are able to run the ball as well out of the shotgun as they did Saturday, the passing yards will probably eventually come.

More disastrous, however, was Rich Rodriguez’s debut at Michigan.

The divisive new Wolverines head coach saw his updated version of the spread flounder — to say the least — in a 25-23 loss to Utah.

And I’m sure couches were burning somewhere in Morgantown, W.V., when that news hit.

Michigan, playing with a walk-on and a Georgia Tech transfer at quarterback, amassed just 203 yards of total offense and only 36 yards on the ground. They also didn’t have a single sustained drive, as all their points came off of Utah miscues.

It’s looking like a long year in Ann Arbor, but luckily for the Wolverines half the Big Ten is still wholly incapable of beating them.

Axe Watch
With Washington’s Tyrone Willingham and Syracuse’s Greg Robinson already dead men walking, three more coaches placed themselves firmly on the hot seat this weekend.

Al Groh’s Virginia Cavaliers allowed themselves to be utterly humiliated on their home field by USC, and with a young team and a tough schedule, this should only get worse in Charlottesville.

It may be early, but Louisville’s Steve Kragthorpe is probably feeling a little heat after Sunday’s loss to Kentucky.

The Cardinals are young this year, but quarterback Hunter Cantwell had previously looked a heck of a lot better than he did in Louisville’s 2-point showing. And this is coming off a 6-6 season when they still had Brian Brohm.

Lastly, Clemson’s Tommy Bowden might need to start updating his resume.

After yet another embarrassing loss in a big game, even if the Tigers do manage to win the ACC, you have to wonder if the fans and administration can continue to put up with the continued mediocrity.

It’s pretty clear Bowden has taken Clemson as far as he can take them. Whether or not either side agrees to finally part ways remains to be seen.

Tim Cottrell is sports designer of the Opelika-Auburn News. He will write a weekly column on college football during the season. You can also read him on the O-A Sports Blog at oanow.com. He can be reached at 737-2511 or .