"Big" Four Football Update
In an early season showdown between "Big" Four powers, Wake Forest held off Duke, 14-13 yesterday.
In other action, North Carolina gave Virginia Tech all the Hokies could handle but dropped a 35-10 heartbreaker. N.C. State, coming off its opening upset of Appalachian State, was disappointed in its effort to post a similar victory over Akron, losing 20-17.
Current "Big" Four standings:
Wake Forest, 1-0.
North Carolina, 0-0.
N.C. State, 0-0.
Duke, 0-1.
Thanks to the inanity of Atlantic Coast Conference scheduling, determining a "Big" Four champion will be difficult again this year. While Wake Forest and North Carolina each plays its three rivals, N.C. State and Duke will not meet this season.
A similar problem created a tie last year at the top of the standings between Wake Forest and North Carolina, both 2-0. A "Big" Four Championship Game, suggested in this forum, did not occur. Of course, it would have provided the only post-season opportunity for either team.
With schools playing 12 games during the regular season, is it really too much to expect that one game should be reserved for nearby rivals like N.C. State and Duke? I imagine both would be happy to drop Miami, Virginia Tech or Boston College.
With ACC championships and even bowl games increasingly remote possibilities for Duke, Wake Forest, N.C. State and North Carolina football teams, a true "Big" Four title would present a chance to claim much-needed moral victories.