The future of the Atlantic Coast Conference will be one of many storylines to follow intently over the next few years. The radical shifts in college sports, especially college football, have led to several massive waves of uncertainty.
Several of those waves have crashed into the ACC. And sometimes, the sand there feels like it’s eroding.
That thought is widespread throughout college football. Josh Pate, who hosts Late Kick with Josh Pate on YouTube and works for CBS Sports and CBS Sports HQ, discussed how he views the future of the conference Friday. Safe to say, not very well, as he suggested that time was running out on the ACC.
In a word, Pate thinks the ACC is “cooked.”
“The ACC is cooked. It just feels cooked. It feels like the stove is on. It feels like everything’s in the pan and you just gotta slide it in at this point.”
🗣️ @LateKickJosh breaks down why the future of the ACC doesn’t look promising pic.twitter.com/TH0VX44tXP
— CBS Sports College Football 🏈 (@CBSSportsCFB) May 17, 2024
“The ACC is cooked. It just feels cooked,” Pate said. “It feels like the stove is on, it feels like everything’s in the pan and you just gotta slide it in at this point.”
Here’s more from Pate, who came off as pragmatic about the situation.
“It’s not a good feeling for those of us who really just wish we could leave well enough alone. There’s a really good Tracy Lawrence song, ‘When Daddy Was A Strong Man.’ Never got released on the radio, but that’s one of the lines in there. ‘I wish change would just leave well enough alone.’
“…
So, no one wants to be there. They had their spring meetings down at Amelia Island, I’ve never gone to it. In fact, I don’t think I’ve ever been to the spring meetings. I’m always doing other stuff that time of year. But the ACC had their spring meetings down there, and I thought – a good friend of the program, Ross Dellenger of Yahoo Sports – put it very well.
“If you’ve not paid attention to this stuff at all and you think to yourself, ‘I don’t really care. Just tell me when they kick the ball off,’ I respect you. And I think this paragraph right here sums it up better than reading a copious amount of articles ever could. … You don’t even have to know anything about the situation to know this situation is not going to work.”
Pate then quoted Dellenger’s description of the ACC: “Two of its most unruly children, FSU and Clemson, are causing disruption as they work to leave the family behind. A half-dozen of their siblings wish they had the resources and wherewithal to join them. And then another group, clinging to their morals and missions, are content. Nestled quietly in their beds, avoiding trouble at all costs, an angry fist raised toward their misbehaving brethren.”
[CBS College Football on X]
