Bleeding Orange and Green: Storming the ACC

The Atlantic Coast Conference: our path to the National Championship game. The University of Miami brought their talents, along with Virginia Tech, to the ACC in 2004. Since then, the Hokies have notched 4 ACC titles while Miami has yet to claim its first. This is a hard concept to grasp for Hurricanes fans, who got used to manhandling the Big East year in and year out. If there is one heavily overlooked attribute of Al Golden's, it would be his familiarity with the Atlantic Coast Conference. Al's years at Boston College (coached linebackers 1997-99) and the University of Virginia (graduate assistant 1994-96, defensive coordinator 2001-05) play a major role in his mindset. Golden's relationships with other coaches around the ACC are strong as well. As Sun Tzu said in The Art of War: "Know thyself, know thy enemy. A thousand battles, a thousand victories." Sun Tzu is conspicuously silent when it comes to NCAA investigations, but let's hope those thousand victories are right around the corner.

Al Golden may be well aware of our ACC adversaries, but is Johnny Canefan5000? Probably not, Johnny's an ignorant piece of shit. Enough about Johnny, let's talk about you, baby. Do you know our ACC brethren? Those cowardly swine, those shifty devils, those ‘Piggly Wiggly' loving sons of... I digress. I've got something for you my facebook friend, take my hand firmly and SOTU will guide you down that treacherous road from our inception into the conference to present day (no not Christmas.) So grab your can of mint Skoal and your Jeff Foxworthy calendar - we're diving head first into the ACC.

First off, thanks for sticking with the group. Now if you'll direct your attention below we have presented a very colorful and detailed list of each teams ACC record since 2004.

Spoiler: Frank Beamer called your girlfriend a slut, you call your girlfriend Frank Beamer. Beamer beaver? Sorry, I apologize.

As you can plainly see above, useless statistics take up a lot of space. This may come as a surprise to those outside of Blacksburg, Virginia - but Tech has a clear lead in the W/L category. Beamer you dirty girl you, how'd you do it? We also have Georgia Tech sliding into second, with the option!? Then we have Clemson and the Seminoles tied for third, I expected better... Fourth place brings us to our Hurricanes sitting at four games over .500 and shortly behind the Canes waits Boston College and North Carolina. Are you satisfied? No. There's no pleasing you is there? Well I'll just insert the Al Golden optimism [here] and [here] you'll nod your head in approval and we'll proceed.

Championship: a contest for the position of champion in a sport, often involving a series of games or matches. Would you like me to use it in a sentence? The world will be a much better place once Miami wins their sixth National Championship. The Atlantic Coast Conference has crowned plenty of champions but not one for us, so they don't matter right? Wrong? Maybe? The truth is I'm not sure. The conference has the stability of an NBA collective bargaining agreement coupled with the irrationality of a hormonal female who just doesn't understand why you won't participate in her day-long Lifetime movie marathon. However, for poops and squiggles we'll take a look at it anyway.

Again, congratulations Hokies. Glad to see you didn't waste those years winning National Championships but instead you were busy taking home that coveted ACC Championship trophy.

Now on to our recent history. Class, who here was not held to complete anxiety during each of the previous year's conference matchups? For those of you who didn't raise their hands I want what you're smoking. Our recent history is a touchy subject filled with nail-biting victories and agonizing defeats. Just for posterity, let's take a look at Miami's critical ACC matchups over the past two years. Smoking is permitted.

September 9th in College Park will always be remembered to those who witnessed the game. Al Golden in his first year, several starters suspended and a young Steven Morris. The game was a close one, closer than the score would indicate at least. Miami had a chance to move down the field to possibly kick the game winning field goal but unfortunately Morris was picked off, allowing the Terrapins to rush into the endzone and seal our fate.

October 8th in Blacksburg was as sickening as any game Logan Thomas participates in. The Hurricanes trailed all game until they finally took a lead late in the fourth quarter. It would prove not to be enough, however. The Hokies drove deep on the Hurricane defense, only to set up a crucial game deciding fourth and one situation. The result: Logan Thomas runs 19 yards into the endzone with 56 seconds remaining. Let the obscenities fly...

October 15th in Chapel Hill would spell another familiar situation for the Harris-led Hurricanes. Luckily this time we had managed to survive. After taking a 24 point lead over the Tar Heels the ‘Canes went on to have an uneventful and almost costly second half. The game came down to the very last second as North Carolina secured an onside kick with little time to spare. UNC moved the ball well with the short time left but a critical Sean Spence sack of Bryn Renner helped Miami gather their poise for the final play: a last ditch pass and lateral attempt that only netted 13 yards.

October 27th at Sun Life Stadium. The Virginia Cavaliers faked a field goal, had a 53 yard screen for a touchdown, and a 78 yard reception from their running back for a score. This game was a whirlwind of obnoxiousness and I will leave it at that.

November 12th, Doak Campbell Stadium. After going up 7-3 Florida State would surge back to take a 17-7 advantage. Miami mounted a comeback in the fourth by adding 12 points but it wasn't enough. Here is a brief excerpt from ESPN's recap of the game:

"Miami dominated the early going in a lengthy, bizarre first half delayed by five video replays, including a time-consuming double reversal where the initial replay call to overturn an officials decision was reversed. The second reversal, however, appeared to get that call correct."

"By the time Florida State managed to gets its initial first down midway through the second quarter on EJ Manuel's 24-yard pass to Christian Green, Miami had already outgained the Seminoles 165 yards to 13."

"However, three costly first half turnovers kept them from adding points. The Hurricanes used more than seven minutes on a lengthy drive from their own one to the Florida State nine before Harris was intercepted in the end zone by Florida State's Lamarcus Joyner."

November 25th, post-Thanksgiving day football game. Jacory Harris threw four interceptions in his final game as a Hurricane. Let's move on to next year shall we?

The first game of the year was on September 1st in Chestnut Hill. What an amazing opening to the season. Duke Johnson came bursting onto the scene, Morris at the helm, and Malcolm Lewis shined in his freshman debut. All the spectacular play from the offense almost made up for the endless amount of yards given up by the defense. This dizzying style of play made you sure that the outcome of the game depended entirely on who had the last possession - a narrative that would later become the unofficial theme of the 2012 season.

September 22nd in Atlanta was an emotional roller coaster ride that would not only impact the score but the thoughts and feelings of everyone who witnessed it. After snagging an early 19-0 lead Miami soon lost momentum and went down 36-22 heading into the fourth. The defense had already allowed 82 points in their first two games and 36 points three quarters into this matchup but somehow they buckled down in the fourth quarter and refused to allow a single point. In stunning fashion the Hurricanes tied the game and sent this instant ACC-classic into overtime. Again, the Miami defense rose up, stopping the Yellow Jackets on a crucial fourth and one along the goalline to solidify a hurricane victory.

On September 29th against NC State, Steven Morris would go on to set a school and ACC record 566 passing yards. Neck and neck until the end, this was the game where Steven Morris set himself apart from the ACC quarterback crowd. With roughly 19 seconds left Morris play faked, scrambled to the right, and heaved a 62 yard bomb to Phillip Dorsett to effectively end a game that seemed all but destined for overtime.

October 13th: The Battle of the Banned. A tough loss for a Miami team that had suddenly found itself in the unlikely position of being 3-0 in ACC play. The game remained tight until the very end, but due to an unfortunate injury to Steven Morris backup Ryan Williams was left with the task of driving uphill for the win. Williams would lead Miami down the field only to fall short on a fourth down pass attempt.

Homecoming night on October 20th and the Hurricanes came out ready to play. After forcing an early fumble the Canes quickly took a 7-0 lead. The intensity would not be able to carry throughout the game, though, as the Seminoles would hold off for a 33-20 defeat of the Hurricanes.

November 1st: Thursday night in Miami. The Canes came on sharp against rival Virginia Tech: blocking a punt, snagging a fumble, and grabbing a pick when the Hokies were driving into the redzone. The only blemish was the absolutely mind blowing 73 yard run for a touchdown by Logan Thomas on a third and long.

Charlottesville would play host to one of the most infuriating games of the entire year. To keep it short: defense. If you pan back to last year's game you can see UVA has a trend going here.

The last game of the season would prove to be a battle. Electric play from Miami's offense was essential in their high scoring win over Duke. The Hurricanes kept pushing up the lead with each effort but the defensive side struggled to stop the scoring. When it was all said and done Miami was able to walk away with a win and become (in name only) the Coastal co-Champions.

Well now, you survived our slingshot around the Atlantic Coast Conference. I guess there's nothing left to do now except revisit the concept of your girlfriend appearing Beamer-esq. I apologize again, just trying to work it out of my system. As you saw above, the road through the ACC is a strange journey and one that doesn't fit too well to our liking as fans. While each year grants various opportunities for any given team to win the conference, it's important to be cognizant of our history. Knowing and remembering these events allows us as fans to tap into that extra level of passion; to help funnel those obscenities towards opposing teams and to give us something else to complain about. Which, like any other fanbase, isn't that all we want?

Truth is, for Miami to begin their rise on the national scale they must first conquer the ACC. Weird, huh? In a league that has witnessed only one team go undefeated in conference play since 2004, will Miami ever be able to take home the championship for themselves? As Golden sets his plan in motion and the Hurricanes gain strength, the odds finally appear in our favor to take the Coastal Division and plant ourselves in the ACC Championship game. What a pleasant disposition for once. As the schedule sits now, my bias would lead me to believe the task will be done. However, if useless statistics have taught us anything it's that the ACC loves to beat up on each other. My prediction: Miami will win the coastal. As for the championship game, I'll reserve my opinion until further down the road.

This concludes our second segment of Bleeding Orange and Green, we hope you've enjoyed this article and have come away with a better insight into our Atlantic Coast Conference.

Seriously though, don't call your girlfriend Frank Beamer. That shit's not cool.