ACC Summer Football Check-in with Florida State’s Chop Chat

Dec 28, 2013; Orlando, FL, USA; The Louisville Cardinals Bird cheers before the Russell Athletic Bowl at Florida Citrus Bowl Stadium. Mandatory Credit: David Manning-USA TODAY Sports

(3) STG: … How do you feel about the Louisville/Maryland swap?

Nohe: Anyone outside of Rutgers or Temple could have replaced Maryland in the ACC and made football more interesting. Florida State fans will always remember the 63-0 farewell present the Seminoles gave the Terps in Tallahassee last season.

Louisville, even despite losing a lot after last season, is still one of the top 15-20 college programs in the country. Getting the Cardinals to join the ACC was an absolute coup for John Swofford. Maryland hadn’t won the conference since 2001 and they’ve only had a winning record within the conference one time in the last seven years. The ACC ought not shed one single tear over the loss of Maryland.

Frankly though, I’m more excited about what Louisville does for the ACC in basketball. In the past couple years an already-powerful basketball conference has really become the premiere conference in the country for hoops. Syracuse and Louisville are both top-tier programs and Pittsburgh and Notre Dame are both perennial tournament teams. Tallahassee will always be a football town, but now more than ever you’ll also get to see some great basketball teams come through the Tucker Center too.