ACC coaches keep declaring their conference the best in football

For as long as I can remember, College Football Twitter hasn’t agreed on much. But one of the things we have been able to come together around is making fun of the ACC with one distinct hashtag: #goacc (always lowercased).

Miss a gimme field goal? #goacc. Lose embarrassingly to a nonconference foe? #goacc.

That started subsiding with 2013’s Florida State team steamrolling anyone and everyone en route to a national title. Then Clemson did this to mighty Alabama in Tampa mere months ago:

The ACC has the national title, won the Orange Bowl, and won the Heisman.

But besides the best teams in the league playing at an elite level, the bottom rungs of the league are also rising to the occasion, with quality coaching hires throughout and plenty of national star players.

As the ACC ascends, and the 13 non-Alabama teams awkwardly fight for second in the SEC, the ACC has something unique: at least a moment of regional and (most importantly) national supremacy.

During 2017’s ACC Kickoff media days, boasts about supremacy were on everyone’s mind.

Florida State’s Jimbo Fisher:

Boston College’s Steve Addazio:

We are in the ACC, the best conference in college football. That's not even debatable anymore. That's backed up by every stat you can look at, by how many of our teams, from our top to our bottom, [are] competing and beating all the teams from the other leagues. Who we play in the Power Five, who we play in non-conference, how many players are drafted in the NFL.

Clemson’s Dabo Swinney:

And on an on.

Although these coaches might be answering leading questions, the party line is clear: There’s a new king on the Power 5 block at the moment.

While offenses may have been the calling card last year, defense could rule the league this season.

Florida State’s defense, led by the return of Derwin James, figures to be nasty. So does Clemson’s, which could have three future first-round picks on the defensive line alone. And Miami could have the league's best front seven. Same goes for NC State and Boston College. And Pitt’s defense could be in for a turnaround.

Sounds a lot like a certain former best conference in the land, if you ask me.