ACC Roundup - Pack Attack is Back

In yesterday's ACC Roundup, we said this: "By the logic of this season so far, [0-5] State should [beat Pitt] by, say, 30-40 points."

That didn't happen, but State was up by 25 at the half.

Just to make it clear, an 0-5 team tied for last place was up 25 on the #20 team in the Coaches Poll.

On the road. And Clemson gave Virginia a heck of a game too.

At this point, we could be wrong, but we think you have to start talking about the ACC race in historical terms.

When has any conference been this good from top to bottom? You can disregard BC for the moment - the Eagles aren't likely to be a big factor in this year's race and have fallen to 7-10 - but otherwise this is an unbelievable season.

It's as tough as the ACC has been since the mid-80s, when UNC was so good, NC State had recently won the national championship, Georgia Tech and Duke were rising, Virginia was still very tough under Terry Holland, Maryland was tremendous, Clemson was very difficult and only Wake Forest, for a time, wasn't that great.

But even then they had Muggsy Bogues.

And when Florida State joined, remember, the Seminoles won right away in the Dean Dome, with Sam Cassell pronouncing the Dean Dome crowd to be a "cheese and wine crowd, kind of laid back."

Within a relatively short time, the ACC saw Ralph Sampson, James Worthy, Michael Jordan, Bogues, Johnny Dawkins, Mark Price and Len Bias.

The talent was better, but the competitiveness may not have been.

Given our facetious State prediction, we may have entered...the Costanza Zone.

For anyone too young, George Costanza was  character on NBC's hit show "Seinfeld."

At one point, he realized that every instinct he had was wrong, so, astutely, he began to do precisely the opposite of what he felt he should do - and his life improved radically.

So in the Costanza Zone, we look at Wednesday's games and see this: Wake Forest, fresh off a humiliating defeat, pops UNC at home. Notre Dame falls to Virginia Tech - at home.

Miami gets knocked off by Boston College - big win!

Then Florida State goes to Louisville and shocks the Napoleon of the Yum! Center.

Why not? It makes as much sense as anything else.