Over the past 33 years, the ACC media has correctly predicted the football champion 21 times. That's not a bad record, even if you take into account that Florida State was an obvious pick 11 years in a row and won the title in 10 of those.
Still, the media isn't always right (Really! It's true!) and among the surprises have been some real shockers, Tuesday's Top Five.
5. Clemson, 1981 — The Tigers got a handful of first-place votes, but the media cognoscenti leaned heavily toward North Carolina (65 votes) and Maryland (three votes, but second on points). Clemson didn't just win the ACC. The Tigers won the national title with a win over Nebraska in the Orange Bowl.
4. Virginia Tech, 2004 — Perhaps the ACC underestimated the Big East, but in retrospect it did look like a rebuilding year in Blacksburg. The Hokies were picked sixth (and Miami second) in their first year in the league, but Tech won eight straight down the stretch before losing in the Sugar Bowl.
3. Virginia and Duke, 1989 — The smart money was on Clemson, which had won three straight ACC titles, with the Cavaliers picked to finish third and the Blue Devils fourth. The two ended up tying for the title, with Virginia winning the tiebreaker.
2. Maryland, 2001 — Very little was expected from Ralph Friedgen in his first year at Maryland, but he rallied the Terps to a 7-1 ACC record and a berth in the Orange Bowl. All that after being picked to finish seventh, ahead of Wake Forest (which finished tied for seventh) and Duke (which finished ninth).
1. Wake Forest, 2006 — The Wake Forests and Dukes of the world were supposed to be squashed by expansion, but in the second year of the two-division scheme the Deacons won the Atlantic Division, won the ACC Championship Game and made an appearance in the Orange Bowl — all after being picked to finish dead last in the Atlantic.
Luke has worked for The N&O since 2000. He covered the Carolina Hurricanes and the NHL before becoming a sports columnist in August 2008. A native of Evanston, Ill., he graduated from the University of Pennsylvania. He can be reached at 829-8947 or 
Comments
1981 Heels
Tue, 07/28/2009 - 08:44 — heelsno1Clemson defeated an outstanding Tar Heel team in Kenan Stadium by a score of 10-8 to win the ACC in 1981. Carolina had L.T. anchoring its defense and K.B. was an all-star running back. With the exception of the "Choo Choo" era, the 1981 UNC football team was probably the best ever.
It was a perfect football afternoon in 1981 with a "big-game atmosphere", and I recall a clever incident that occurred that day. About 10 Clemson students hoisted a huge banner that posed this question..."If God is a Tar Heel, then why is UNC located in ORANGE County?" Clever.