CRAWFORD | Dysfunction or disruption? 3 storylines to watch at ACC Media Days

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) – In a landscape where the Southeastern and Big Ten Conferences are commanding more and more of the oxygen, the Atlantic Coast Conference finds itself fighting for a place in the college football conversation.

To do that, the ACC needs to bring disruption. But in this offseason, it has offered only dysfunction. A group of seven schools reportedly banding together to try to explore exit strategies from the league’s apparently iron-clad grant of media rights deal. The commissioner, Jim Phillips, named in lawsuits over the hazing scandal that cost Northwestern coach Pat Fitzgerald his job.

Heading into ACC Media Days this week, the league finds itself more than ever in need of a fresh marketing approach. The question is, will the conference coaches and commissioners offer anything other than the standard Talking Season fare. The league has expanded its media days from 2 days to 3, having done away with its divisional format. It’s a start. More is needed.

Here are 3 storylines to watch as the programs head to Charlotte.

1). What will Phillips have to say?

We already know what he’s going to say about the Northwestern lawsuits. Phillips has put out a statement claiming no knowledge of the hazing happening within the football program while he was athletic director there. Anything else, with litigation ongoing, is going to be a non-starter. It’s a distraction for a conference commissioner who doesn’t need one.

Phillips will have to address publicly the reports that a good number of the conference’s more prominent members were looking to align in exploring other options. And just as important, he’ll need to provide some kind of vision for the league, which is used to being among the “haves” of college football, but which now is decidedly among the “have nots,” or at least having less, than the SEC and Big Ten.

New revenue sharing options are on the table, but that’s not the kind of thing that can get the college football world talking. If the ACC is not going to be on a level financial playing field as the SEC and Big Ten, it’s imperative that the league get creative in remaining relevant in the national conversation for something other than how far it could fall.

What ideas does Phillips have for making this happen? A year ago, in the wake of the SEC announcing the additions of Texas and Oklahoma and the Big Ten adding USC and UCLA, Phillips delivered a dud of an address, essentially saying that those larger leagues should make sure to continue to allow the ACC to be a part of the “neighborhood.”

Alas, college football has no Mr. Rogers to regulate its conscience. My colleague, Rick Bozich, called Phillips’ address, in which he talked for 29 minutes before taking the first question, “flat, uninspiring, timid and likely a colossal loser.”

He'll need to bring more a year later, when the stakes have only grown higher.

2). Who's No. 3?

At least in terms of voting for the preseason poll, Clemson and Florida State occupy the top 2 spots in the league, and it’s just a question of preference as to who you put on top. Clemson returns 15 starters from a team that went 8-0 in the ACC and won the league championship game handily, 39-10 over North Carolina.

You can view the Tigers’ blowout loss at Notre Dame, or its upset loss to South Carolina or its 31-14 bowl loss to Tennessee as signs of vulnerability, but none of those losses was inflicted by an ACC opponent.

Florida State has 18 starters and 87 percent of its offensive production back from a team that was greatly improved, finished two spots ahead (No. 11) of Clemson (No. 13) in last year’s final AP Poll, and appears poised to return to the top of the league. It opens the season at LSU, which will provide a good yardstick, and its showdown with Clemson comes early, on Sept. 23 on the road.

The real question, then, for conference prognosticators, is who to pencil in at the No. 3 spot. North Carolina returns star quarterback Drake Maye and 14 other starters. Duke is ascending after Mike Elko fashioned a 9-4 record in his first season and has all but three offensive starters back. Pittsburgh also won 9 games a year ago and has finished two straight seasons ranked in the final AP Poll.

And then there’s Miami, which is among the top national players in NIL, but has yet to turn that into a breakthrough season on the field. The Hurricanes went 5-7 last season.

Wake Forest, N.C. State and Louisville are programs that won 8 games a year ago and are looking to take a step up.

3). Where does Louisville fit?

The Cardinals are an intriguing group for several reasons. The first is the addition of Jeff Brohm as head coach. He left the Big Ten to come home, and the excitement level around the program in Louisville is palpable. That hasn’t caught on so much nationally, but it could if Louisville gets off to the right start.

That could well happen, because Louisville also got a break in scheduling. The Cardinals will not face Clemson, Florida State or North Carolina in conference play. They have a chance to build some early momentum, opening on the road against Georgia Tech, then facing winnable games against Murray State at home and Indiana (at Indianapolis), with a league game at home against Boston College and a tough test at N.C. State before facing a matchup against Notre Dame in Louisville on Oct. 7 that could help the program become more a part of the national conversation.

If things go right, the start of the Jeff Brohm era at Louisville could be pretty flashy. To capitalize on that opportunity, Brohm has added a whopping 25 players from the transfer portal – a group ranked No. 1 in the portal class rankings by On3 and in the top 10 by several others.

A key part of that group is quarterback Jack Plummer, who played for Brohm at Purdue before transferring to Cal, where he was a successful starter last season.

But Brohm didn’t stop there. He also added Brady Allen, who he recruited to Purdue. Beyond those, he has a highly touted a true freshman phenom in Pierce Clarkson, a returning player in Brock Domann, and others.

Perhaps telling – no quarterbacks will make the trip to Charlotte with Brohm, though Plummer looked to be in solid shape as the starter exiting spring practice.

Brohm’s post-spring recruiting has been just as active as his traditional efforts. He has added 12 from the portal since the end of spring practice, and just two weeks ago he landed 5-star high school linebacker T.J. Capers, a Top 50 prospect in the 2024 class from Miami who has reclassified to 2023 and will join the Cardinals when he fully recovers from a knee injury.

Expectations in Louisville are high, but those have yet to translate to high expectations elsewhere.

"On paper, we've made a lot of strides," Brohm said last month. "We've made some new additions that we think can help our football team and be a big part of helping us find a way to win. You never know for sure until they get here what exactly they can do and how they will fit in. But to this point, I think we have brought in some good young men that are good teammates, that are going to work hard, that are going to want to do their part to build this program. I just think that it's a constant evaluation process, development process. You got to put the time in, and be willing to work with your guys on a daily basis. You can't take anything for granted, but I do like the nucleus of our guys."

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