After 2009, ACC Still Short on Respect

The Atlantic Coast Conference was one of three leagues which had three teams ranked among the top 15 in the final Bowl Championship Series with No. 9 Georgia Tech, No. 11 Virginia Tech and No. 15 Miami.

That was the good news for a conference still searching for respect. Sing it Aretha!

The ACC's 2009 bowl season was reflective of the league's regular season -- average, at best. The conference finished 3-4 overall -- its fourth straight season without a winning bowl record -- and dropped to 2-10 in BCS bowls.


Georgia Tech, the best of the ACC in 2009, had only 155 yards of total offense and nine first downs in its 24-14 Orange Bowl loss to Iowa.

The Yellow Jackets, thanks to head coach Paul Johnson's vaunted triple-option, were first in the nation in time of possession, second in rushing and 11th in scoring. However, they sputtered against an Iowa defense that held four bowl-bound teams to 10 points or less during the regular season.

Tech and the ACC could needed the win to hush the critics.

PLAYERS OF THE YEAR

Easy.

Georgia Tech junior Derrick Morgan, a a 6-foot-4, 272-pounder,ranked first in the conference and sixth nationally in sacks with 12.5. The total was the highest by a Yellow Jacket in nine years and is 2.5 short of the school record, held since 1985 by Pat Swilling.

On offense, none was better than all-purpose threat C.J. Spiller.

Spiller was the nation's only player this season to account for touchdowns five different ways - rushing, passing, receiving, and on kick and punt returns - and had passing, rushing and receiving touchdowns in one game, a victory against North Carolina State.

Spiller finished with 1,145 rushing yards and scored a Clemson single-season record 20 touchdowns - 11 rushing, four receiving and five on kick returns.

Dude deserved an invitation to New York City for the Heisman Trophy presentation.

GAME OF THE YEAR

At least the ACC saved the best for last.

Jonathan Dwyer's 15-yard touchdown run with 1:20 left helped Georgia Tech rally for a thrilling 39-34 win over Clemson and earn its first outright league title since 1990.

The Yellow Jackets, the top-scoring team in the league, scored on their first seven possessions and led 33-27 as Clemson couldn't stop the triple-option attack. But then Tech couldn't stop Spiller, who rushed for 233 yards and four touchdowns in the game.

Spiller's scoring plays covered 3, 41, 36 and 9 yards, the latter trimming a 13-point deficit to 33-27 with 12 minutes remaining. His longest run of the night, a 54-yarder to the Georgia Tech 9, put him over 200 yards and set up Andre Ellington's 1-yard run that put the Tigers ahead 34-33 with 6:11 to go.

Georgia Tech, however, marched 86 yards in 13 plays to regain the lead and then the victory.

BAD DECISION

Christian Ponder plays offense. Not defense like his father did at FSU and for one season with the Dallas Cowboys.

Ponder, FSU's talented signal caller and a Heisman Trophy hopeful in 2010, separated his right shoulder and was lost for the season in early November when he tried to tackle Clemson safety DeAndre McDaniel after a frustrated Ponder tossed his fourth interception of the game.

Like two testy rams, both lowered their heads and shoulders and - boom.

Ponder lost.

COMEBACK STORY

Looking for inspiration? Boston College linebacker Mark Herzlich packs plenty.

On May 14, 2009, Herzlich, the ACC Defensive Player of the Year in 2008, announced that he had been diagnosed with Ewing's sarcoma, a rare form of bone cancer, in his leg.

On Sept. 29, Herzlich announced that he was cancer free and said he will rejoin his teammates for winter conditioning on Jan. 21, which he did.

Kudos Mark.

SO LONG

One of Bobby Bowden's final acts as FSU's head coach was to throw Chief Osceola's lit spear before the Seminoles' Jan. 1 Gator Bowl game against West Virginia. Bowden, of course, joked he didn't think the spear would stick. It did.

FSU responded with a memorable 33-21 victory before a record crowd and Bowden was carried nearly to midfield by smiling players in his final game.

Even so, it was a better good-bye than Bowden received from the FSU administration, which went AWOL when Bowden announced his retirement and instead wheeled out Ponder and senior linebacker Dekoda Watson to meet the media.

Bowden, 80, announced Dec. 1 that he would retire at the end of this season after pressure from university officials and boosters unhappy with the direction of the program.

Offensive coordinator and coach-in-waiting Jimbo Fisher was sworn into office in early January.

A PEEK AT 2010

Virginia Tech is the team to beat.

For the first time in school history, the Hokies won back-to-back bowls. They finished the 2009 season with five straight wins, and Tech's defense did not allow a point in the second half of any of those five wins.

Looking for offense? Don't worry.

Running back Ryan Williams returns after becoming the Hokies' single-season rushing leader with 1,655 yards as a redshirt freshman. And dual-threat quarterback Tyrod Taylor will be better next season, too.