Barry Jacobs On The ACC & Super Bowl Sunday

The tradition continues.

The ACC and Super Bowl Sunday have been an item for more than 40 years, since an undefeated N.C. State squad led by David Thompson edged a comparably gifted Maryland team 87-85 in January 1973.

Thompson's late score, a tip of a missed shot at the buzzer, sealed the outcome in an unusual national television appearance for any college game in that pre-cable era.

The ACC contest brimmed with drama, in sharp contrast with the lackluster 14-7 Super Bowl that followed. Miami won handily despite the final score, concluding the only undefeated NFL season (17-0) since the 1967 advent of the Game When Commercials Matter.

Last season Miami again played on America's national sports holiday. This time it was the University of Miami, the first of the ACC's mid-2000's Big East refugees to play on Super Bowl Sunday in a league contest.

The opponent was Duke, serving as an NFL hors d'oeuvre for the seventh time. Playing at Cameron Indoor Stadium, the Hurricanes were victorious in overtime. It was one of three occasions the '12 Blue Devils, undefeated on the road in the ACC, lost at home.

Considering its competitive pedigree, it's odd Duke has appeared prior to fewer Super Bowls than N.C. State (15), North Carolina (14), Maryland (11), Wake Forest (9), Florida State (8), Georgia Tech (8), and Virginia (8). Those totals include this year's meeting between the Cavaliers and the homestanding Yellow Jackets.

Overall, of the ACC's original members only Clemson has appeared less often than Duke.

Miami's brethren in expansion, Boston College and Virginia Tech, have yet to participate in a prelude encounter for football's Roman Numeral Extravaganza.

(One pending member, Louisville, hosts Marquette prior to this year's Super Bowl at the not-so-deliciously named KFC Yum! Center.)

As for this year's ACC contestants, UVa has won four of seven previous games on Super Bowl Sunday. Two of those victories, and none of its losses, came when San Francisco won the NFL title (1982 and 1990).

Georgia Tech snagged wins only twice in seven previous appearances on the big day, all under coach Bobby Cremins.

One of the Jackets' victories, in 1995 against Florida State, coincided with a win by the 49ers. But two defeats incurred by Cremins' squads also preceded San Francisco triumphs.

In other words, past experience correlating NFL outcomes with Super Bowl Sunday games involving Georgia Tech and/or Virginia would suggest a 49ers' championship, particularly if the Cavs win.