Adjusted ACC stats: Oct. 2

The stats kept by the ACC and NCAA don't make any attempt to differentiate the level of competition. A game against Murray State counts the same as Alabama.

You can see the flaw in that book-keeping. With all due respect to Richmond, William and Mary, the CAA at-large and the powers of the Southern Conference, a statistical database that only included Division I-A teams against Division I-A teams would give a more accurate portrayal of a team's strengths and weaknesses. (Yes, I know Army and Alabama aren't equal either, but at least we're comparing widgets to widgets.)

I've done just that for each of the 12 ACC teams, compiled their stats from games against teams the NCAA for marketing purposes calls the "Bowl Subdivision."

For naming purposes, I'm calling these "adjusted" stats. (I've also created a subset for ACC-only stats, which I'll publish when every ACC team has played at least three conference games.)

For obvious reasons, the two most important statistics are points and turnovers. I've also run the numbers on a few categories that I think are essential to the outcome of the game. I have the yardage numbers but often they can be misleading and have no bearing on the final outcome.

"Free points" are touchdowns (or safeties) scored by the defense or special teams. The value of free points can be seen in Wake's 2006 ACC title and both of Boston College's Atlantic Division titles.

Essentially, if all else is equal, and that's what parity has done to the ACC, than the team with the most free points wins. Ditto for the team that avoids giving up free points.

Well look at that, Virginia Tech has 21 free points for and zero against. Hmm, who's the best team in the ACC?

"Free points" is a macro concept. On the micro level, yards per carry will determine who wins the game 75 percent of the time. In 28 games this season involving ACC teams and a I-A opponent, the team that has averaged more yards per carry has won 21 times.

Sack allowed doesn't necessarily reflect the outcome of the game but along with ypc, it's a measure of how good a team's offensive line is. You would expect Maryland (13) and Virginia (12) to be at the bottom of the heap but right there with them is Virginia Tech (12) and Clemson (8).

I mention VT and Clemson because the Wall Street Journal proclaimed their lines bound for greatness in the offseason based on experience, rather than ability. In VT's defense, they're averaging a stout 4.9 ypc. Clemson charts at a mediocre 3.6 ypc.

Adjusted records

1. VT..................    3-1
T2. BC................    2-1
T2. Mia................   2-1
T2. UNC..............    2-1
T2. GT.................    2-1
6. Clem................   2-2
T7. Duke.............    1-1
T7. N.C. State.....     1-1
T9. FSU...............    1-2
T9. Wake.............    1-2
11. UVa................   0-2
12. Md.................    0-3

Adjusted stats

Scoring offense
1. FSU.................    31.7
2. VT....................   30.7
3. Miami...............    26.0
4. Duke................    25.5
5. Clem................    24.7
6. UVa..................    24.0
7. GT....................    23.6
8. Wake...............    23.0
9. BC...................    22.7
10. N.C. State......    20.5
11. Md..................   19.0
12. UNC..............    16.7

Scoring defense
1. Clem...............    16.2
2. VT...................    16.5
3. UNC...............     17.0
4. BC..................    18.7
5. N.C. State.......    19.0
6. GT...................   22.3
7. Wake..............    22.7
8. Miami..............    27.3
9. FSU................    27.6
10. Duke.............    31.5
11. UVa...............    33.5
12. Md................    39.3

Takeaways
T1. FSU...............    9
T1. Clem..............    9
T1. BC.................    9
4. VT....................   7
5. GT...................    5
T6. UVa...............    4
T6. Wake.............    4
T6. Duke..............   4
T9. Miami............    3
T9. UNC..............    3
T9. Md................    3
12. N.C. State......    1

Turnover margin
T1. BC.................   3
T1. VT..................  3
T1. FSU...............   3
T1. GT.................   3
5. Clem...............   2
6. UVa.................   1
7. Duke..............    E
T8. Miami.............. -1
T8. N.C. State.......  -1
T10. UNC............    -3
T10. Wake...........    -3
10. Md.................   -8

Free points scored
T1. VT..................   21
T1. Clem.............    21
T3. FSU...............    14
T3. GT.................    14
T3. Duke.............    14
T6. Miami............    2
T6. UNC..............    2
T8. BC.................    0
T8. UVa...............    0
T8. N.C. State..... .   0
T8. Wake.............    0
T8. Md................    0

Free points allowed
T1. VT..................    0
T1. FSU...............    0
T1. UNC..............    0
T1. N.C. State......    0
T1. Wake.............    0
6. GT...................    2
T7. Duke.............    7
T7. BC.................    7
T7. UVa...............    7
T10. Miami..........    14
T10. Md...............    14
12. Clem.............    21

Yards per carry
1. GT.................    6.6
2. VT..................    4.9
3. Wake..............    4.7
4. FSU................    4.2
5. Clem...............    3.6
6. N.C. State........    3.5
7. Miami..............    3.2
8. Md..................    3.1
9. BC..................    2.9
10. Duke.............    2.5
11. UNC..............    2.1
12. UVa..............    1.7

Sacks allowed
T1. Wake.............   3
T1. GT.................   3
3. Miami..............   4
T4. Duke.............   6
T4. BC.................   6
T6. FSU...............   7
T6. UNC.............    7
T6. N.C. State.....    7
9. Clem...............   8
T10. VT................  12
T10. UVa.............   12
12. Md.................   13