Chant Rant's Rich Halten Checks In With Us Again

Canes Rising: What is your perspective on the 12 team ACC? How has this affected Florida State, and are Miami and FSU doomed to be perform like some SEC Teams do (Auburn, LSU, Florida) where they can only truly contend for the conference title when the have lots of upperclassmen starting in key positions?



Chant Rant:

I'm torn on this one. You can certainly make a case that no ACC team will be dominant for more than a season or two in the foreseeable future. Every school is now serious about football. Even Duke is a threat to upset most ACC opponents this year, with a good QB and new Off. Coordinator. UNC is on the upswing, thanks to Butch. Jaga whats hisname at B.C. could win a national championship. Grobe is proving Wake is no fluke. Parity very well could be the league's hallmark
for years to come.

However, FSU and Miami still have enough of a cachet left that if we can both recruit and reload -- and it appears recruiting is going well in Tallahassee and Coral Gables -- both teams could regain a talent margin over the rest of the league.

For example, the Noles have a commitment from an amazing difference-make of a QB. He appears to be a lock, and his presence -- along with a maturing OL and Mickey's stout defense -- could make the next four years very interesting.

Meanwhile, the Canes have a guy in Marve who's a tough competitor and a winner. Once healthy, he will be your Matt Grothe, with a bit of Brett Farve ruggedness for good measure. A guy like that could make UM dangerous again. Especially when balanced with those three -- or is it four? --young running backs.

I'm tending towards the latter theory. Maybe not next year, but come 2009, our game in Tallahassee could again match two highly rated teams in a smackdown the whole nation can't wait to watch.