Unfortunately, the Tar Heels were the Tar Heels-meaning the team that was thought to be a national contender. They ran the Wolfpack out of the Smith Center 74-55. In the home game against Virginia, the Wolfpack didn’t shoot the ball well, but battled all game long before falling short by a point. While the two losses don’t doom the Wolfpack’s chances at the NCAA tournament, nor by themselves prove they can’t play with the big boys, they represented missed opportunities. Now they face of week of winnable games against Boston College and Wake Forest, which can help rebuild their confidence, if not necessarily enhance their tournament profile.

The Wolfpack’s place among the leaders in the conference was taken by the Tar Heels, who did what they were supposed to do in dispatching N.C. State and Georgia Tech by double figure margins. Last night’s 68-53 win at Wake sends the Heels to Maryland, where the Terrapins are in need of a big win to improve their profile. The loss of Dexter Strickland will affect the team’s perimeter shooting and defense, and may be troublesome going forward, but their front line is still imposing and their offense can still overwhelm most opponents.

Elsewhere, Miami evened up its conference record by beating up on Georgia Tech and Boston College. The Hurricanes have won three of their last four, with big games this week against Maryland tonight and Duke on Sunday. The Blue Devils overcame the Terrapins and St. John’s last week, with Mason Plumlee having the best week of his ACC career so far. Following it’s loss to Virginia Tech, the Virginia Cavaliers also fashioned a 2-0 week, beating Boston College in addition to the win over the Wolfpack.

Looking ahead, it is a big week for the Terrapins. The Miami and North Carolina games give the Terps opportunities for some solid, resume-building wins. Whether or not they are capable of getting one or both of them will depend on what kind of effort they give on both ends of the floor. Saturday’s matchup between Virginia and Florida State pit the conference’s best defensive teams against each other-despite Florida State’s recent improvement on offense, points will be hard to come by on both sides. The Seminoles will look keep up their improved play, while Virginia has been a surprise, hanging around the top of the standings all season long.

Let’s just say that no one is overlooking the Seminoles now.

Sprinkled in those four consecutive conference triumphs was a thirty-three point beatdown of presumed national title contender North Carolina. Yes, the game was in Tallahassee, but how does a team a) beat the Tar Heels by that much anywhere; and b) score 90 points in the process? The Seminoles make their name on the defensive side of the ball, but in the last few games, it has been the offense that has stepped up. Nowhere was that more noticeable than in the Seminoles most recent triumph over Duke, at the cauldron known as Cameron Indoor Stadium. Florida State came from behind, scoring fifty points in the second half-finishing with a game-winning three point shot by Michael Snaer.

In fact, it is the offense that is making Florida State look good lately-so good, they are now tied for the conference lead with Duke and North Carolina State. There are still eleven more conference games to go, and it says here the Seminoles reputation for tight defense will reappear long after the offensive hot streak disappears. Even so, the Seminoles won’t have to face the Tar Heels again, and they get another shot at Duke at home late next month-and if they can remain consistent and keep winning the games they should, they can stay in the running for the conference title, and a decent seed in March. There’s a lot of basketball yet to be played though.

One game is on the schedule for the ‘Noles this week, a road game against on-again, off-again Wake Forest. The Demon Deacons split its two games last week, getting toasted at Duke, but beating Boston College, one of last week’s surprise teams. This game is similar to the Maryland game for the Seminoles-it’s a game they should win, but it follows a big win over one of the two top teams in the conference. A win will help prove that Florida State could be in the conference race for the long haul.

Last week’s notable results: Virginia Tech got its first conference win, beating Virginia in Charlottesville; North Carolina State swept its two games over Boston College and Miami; setting up a big showdown in Chapel Hill Thursday night against the Tar Heels; North Carolina bounced back from its loss in Tallahassee by defeating the Hokies, but lost guard Dexter Strickland for the season.

Looking ahead: Maryland tries to shake off losses to Florida State and Temple when Duke comes to the Comcast Center tonight in the first of two home games. The court will be named in Gary Williams’ honor prior to tip-off-but who knows whether the ceremony will give the Terps what they need to upset the Blue Devils? The aforementioned Wolfpack vs. Tar Heels matchup will see if the Heels can rejoin the top of the conference, or whether N.C. State can keep rolling along. Virginia Tech has a big game tonight against BYU in Blacksburg-a win would give the Hokies a boost in its quest to return to the NCAA tournament.

Apparently it is not too early to begin what fans of the tournament have come to know as the Bubble Watch: explained as which teams may or may not be included in the field of 68 if the tournament were held on a given date. For the last few years, the Virginia Tech Hokies have been on and off the bubble so much, coach Seth Greenberg’s face should be pictured whenever the topic is discussed. This year may prove to be no exception. The Hokies have begun conference play with an 0-2 slate, after losses to Wake Forest on Saturday and Florida State last night. A look at their pre-conference schedule shows a lot of wins over teams they should have beaten, and no bad losses, unless you count the one to Minnesota, which has started out 0-4 in the Big Ten. The Wake Forest loss may prove to hurt them even more, unless the Demon Deacons prove to be better than expected going forward. That said, the Hokies will have some opportunities to improve their tournament bonafides, with upcoming games against North Carolina at home, a road game against Virginia and a non-conference matchup with BYU of the West Coast Conference. Wins in two of those three games will give the Hokies a boost; and they will get two cracks at beating the Duke Blue Devils down the line. Of course, last season the Hokies famously upset Duke at home, only to see themselves out of the tournament when the selections were made. If they prove to be the fourth best team in what is being looked at as a down year for the league, that might not be enough to get them a bid to the NCAA tournament. So every game from here on out is important as the Hokies try to build a good case for inclusion.

Every other team not named North Carolina or Duke is basically in the same boat as Virginia Tech, although Virginia is making a name for itself as the third best team in the conference. The Cavaliers can further cement their standing if they can get a victory over the Blue Devils tomorrow night in Durham. Virginia opened conference play with a one-point victory over Miami on Saturday. North Carolina State got its first conference win by holding off Maryland 79-74 on Sunday. The Wolfpack can put themselves at 4-0 in conference with three winnable games coming up against Georgia Tech, Wake Forest and Boston College. Clemson may have pulled off the conference season’s first shocker by defeating the Seminoles by 20 points on Saturday; after a trip north to face the Eagles, the Tigers will face the Blue Devils on Saturday in a game which will show whether Clemson can enter the conversation as a tournament team.

Start with the Sugar Bowl-Virginia Tech was derided by many for being chosen to even play in the game, and given it’s 1-4 record in BCS bowl games, perhaps rightfully so. While the Hokies kept it close against the Michigan Wolverines, the end result was like so many of the others-a loss. The 23-20 overtime defeat sunk the team and coach Frank Beamer to 1-5 in BCS bowls, and the reputation of Virginia Tech took yet another hit in the national press. For all the success the school has had in the ACC, it hasn’t made it over the hump in the big games. This was just the latest loss of note.

As for the Orange Bowl-given how bad the Hokies reputation appears to be, Clemson’s may be even worse after the 70-33 beatdown the Tigers suffered at the hands of the West Virginia Mountaineers. For this, it is hard to put into words how shocking this result was. The conference champion, the best team the conference had to offer, was beat down by a team from a football conference with an even worse reputation than the ACC. If nothing else, games like this and the Sugar Bowl give more ammunition for removing the automatic bids for the Big Six conferences-I’m sure that Boise State and Arkansas would agree with that. For the Tigers, it had to be the most disastrous result imaginable-a loss would have been reasonable, even if it meant the conference and the school were perceived to be not ready for prime time-but a 37-point annihilation? These two losses now drop the ACC record in BCS bowls to an uninspiring 2-13. Say what you want, but it will take a lot of winning to reverse those numbers, and create a positive perception going forward about ACC football.

Other bowl games offered up more of the same. North Carolina was first up in the Independence Bowl, and the Tar Heels were promptly run over and through by the Missouri Tigers by a 41-24 score. The ACC’s third-ranked rushing defense was gouged to the tune of 337 rushing yards by the Tigers. Wake Forest suffered the conference’s second bowl loss in the Music City Bowl, as the Demon Deacons fell to Mississippi State 23-17. Wake Forest finished the season losing five of its last six games, so they were not exactly trending upward going into this battle down in Nashville.  The first overtime loss for the ACC happened at the Sun Bowl, when Georgia Tech fell to Utah 30-27. The Yellow Jackets caused some problems with their top-ranked rushing attack, but in the end couldn’t get the job done when it mattered most, giving up the tying points late in the fourth quarter, and surrendering the winning touchdown in overtime. Finally, Virginia’s Cavaliers-the surprise of the ACC season-fell hard to Auburn 43-24 in the Peach Bowl. Auburn scored its highest point total of the year against the Cavaliers, who played even for about a quarter and a half, then succumbed to the Tigers’ running game and better athletes.

The two successes of bowl season go to North Carolina State and Florida State. The Wolfpack got a victory in the Belk Bowl, defeating the Louisville Cardinals 31-24. Mike Glennon, the guy tasked with following Russell Wilson at quarterback had a fine game, throwing for three touchdowns. The Seminoles outlasted Notre Dame in the Champs Sports Bowl 18-14, matching two teams that had far higher expectations than playing in a bowl game well before New Years Day. The ACC’s top ranked defense did enough to keep the Seminoles in the game, while the offense woke up in the second half to rally from a 14 point deficit.

They say that ACC Football is just something to pass the time until basketball season starts. This season, perhaps more than ever, has proven that to be true.  Stay tuned next fall when the ACC will once again attempt to improve its national perception in the NCAA’s biggest sport.

ACC teams will finish up with their up the first phase of the season by Thursday with some additional non-conference games. The most noteworthy of these games is Duke’s trip to Philadelphia to face the Temple Owls, whom they have beaten nine straight times. The Blue Devils have been something of an afterthought nationally, even as they won the Maui Classic, but were drubbed by Ohio State. The Blue Devils haven’t lost since, however, and head into this virtual home game with the Owls looking to get even better as they head into their first conference game on Saturday against Georgia Tech.

With North Carolina and Duke having been preordained the conference front-runners from the start of preseason, the remaining ten teams will have plenty of chances to make statements as to where they stand in the conference. The story of the early non-conference season has been Virginia, now ranked in the top 25 of the AP poll at 21. There weren’t many who figured Virginia to be the conference’s third best team; and if you go by won-loss records they currently sit atop the conference at 13-1.  The Cavaliers will face a Miami squad that has a four-game winning streak of its own, and has its own missing pieces returning in center Reggie Johnson and forward DaQuan Jones. The Tar Heels open conference play with a visit from a struggling Boston College team that lost earlier this week to Rhode Island in double overtime. Other conference openers on Saturday include Virginia Tech opening on the road at Wake Forest and Florida State taking on Clemson.

While the non-conference season has seen its share of good wins, there have also been some lost opportunities for good wins by individual schools. In the past week, Clemson went 1-2 in the Diamond Head Classic in Hawaii, with losses to UTEP and Hawaii. Florida State was routed by Florida and Georgia Tech suffered a home loss to Mercer. North Carolina played almost perfect basketball in a rout over Texas; the Longhorns seemingly were behind by double digits as soon as the game began. Duke started slow, but poured it on late to defeat UNC-Greensboro. Miami got Reggie Johnson back from a serious knee injury over the summer, and defeated Charlotte by 15 points. Johnson’s return is important for Jim Larranaga’s squad; it gives the ‘Canes an inside presence to add to what has been a perimeter-oriented offense.

Looking ahead, Virginia looks to keep rolling along even as players transfer out of the program. It was recently announced that James Johnson was given his release and would transfer from Virginia, making four players from coach Tony Bennett’s first recruiting class that will leave the program. Despite that, the Cavaliers have won eight straight games, and should push the string to ten with games against Maryland Eastern Shore and Towson. The Cavaliers will face a test on Monday night against an LSU squad that recently gave Marquette its first loss. The Tigers may be heading into that matchup on a seven-game win streak of their own, should they handle Grambling on Thursday night.  Maryland gets Alex Len on the floor after his ten game suspension is over for two non-conference games this week. Len will give the Terrapins some much needed size, but he isn’t exactly built for bruising down low-though he stands over 7 feet tall, he only weighs in at 225 pounds. Still, he will give the Terrapins another option on offense, adding to ACC leading scorer Terrell Stoglin. The Terps will put their four-game win streak on the line against Albany  tonight, with games against Samford on Saturday and Cornell next Tuesday to follow. Boston College, the only conference team under .500, faces a nemesis of the recent past on Thursday, as Harvard comes to Chestnut Hill. The Crimson have had the better of it over the Eagles in the recent past, and should be favored to win again. A game with Rhode Island follows on Monday.

A look at the conference standings at the moment shows that the Virginia Cavaliers have the second best record in the conference, a half game behind the Duke Blue Devils. Granted, the standings don’t mean a whole lot at the moment as ACC teams as a whole have primarily built their won-loss records on a bunch of guarantee games, mixed in with a few more challenging matchups. For the Cavaliers, this meant a trip out west to face the Oregon Ducks. While the Ducks aren’t exactly a Pac-12 power, they are expected to be improved in their second year under former Creighton head coach Dana Altman. The fact that Virginia went to Oregon, which can be a tough place to play, and came out with a 13-point victory augurs well for the upcoming season. Virginia has been getting it done on defense, and while it’s 9-1 record is impressive, they have been mostly under the radar, save for a win over a ranked Michigan team in the ACC-Big Ten challenge. As stated last week, the ACC has several candidates who could be the third-best team behind consensus 1-2 picks North Carolina and Duke, and it’s possible that Virginia could be that team. Of course, there’s a long way to go before that is determined-and the proving will begin when conference play starts.

With conference play scheduled to start on January 7, the upcoming slate is filled with non-conference games. Notable matchups include tonight’s Texas-North Carolina game in Chapel Hill. Former Clemson coach Rick Barnes brings a Longhorns squad that isn’t loaded with future pros as in years past to face the team many have picked to win the national championship. That’s not a knock on Texas; they still have talent, just not as much as in previous seasons. The game will feature two young talented point guards in Kendall Marshall for the Tar Heels and Myck Kabongo for the Longhorns. The big question will be can Texas handle the talented front line of North Carolina. Thursday night finds the Seminoles of Florida State meeting the Gators of Florida in an ACC-SEC tilt. Florida State makes its name with defense but often has trouble scoring points, while the Gators are a good offensive team whose only losses are to top-five teams Ohio State and Syracuse. Also on Thursday, Clemson’s Tigers begin a trip to Hawaii to participate in the Diamond Head Classic, where possible dates await with Kansas State and Xavier following tomorrow night’s opener versus UTEP.

While those two teams are generally considered threats, the rest of the conference has mostly been considered afterthoughts. The national perception has been that the ACC is a two team conference-Tar Heels and Blue Devils, and that the ACC is not the conference it used to be. Those folks who believe that can use the ACC-Big Ten Challenge results as fuel for their argument. With an 8-4 victory, the Big Ten won its third Challenge in a row, suggesting that the ACC isn’t as deep in quality teams as their competitors in the Midwest. After one month, it’s too early to tell how teams below the top two will change over time.

The schedule for the upcoming week is filled with guarantee games with the occasional intriguing out of conference matchup. The big game of the week appears to be #1 Syracuse coming to Raleigh to face N.C. State. The game represents the Wolfpack’s biggest challenge of the season thus far, in a schedule that has included one ranked team (a loss to Vanderbilt). The Wolfpack are not without talent under first-year head coach Mark Gottfried, and he believes that the team has made strides through the first few weeks of the young season. Circumstances surrounding the Syracuse program of late have been focused more on off the court issues than whether or not Jim Boeheim’s team will contend for a national title. While the Fine case hasn’t seemed to distract the Orange thus far, we will see on Saturday if the team can keep its focus against a Wolfpack team looking to avenge last year’s loss at the Carrier dome.

The big question for the season ahead is whether any teams will step up and make themselves a name in the conference alongside the big two. I for one can’t wait to see how it all plays out.