Michigan, Penn State, LSU, Florida and Georgia, all of which are at least as big a draw (and in most cases, bigger draws) than Florida State, the ACC's most marketable program.

All ACC football has to offer right now is FSU, Clemson, what's left of Miami, the hope that Virginia Tech will return to form, and the possibility that UNC may someday attain consistent success. After that, and with apologies to Georgia Tech, there really aren't any programs in the ACC that will interest a national audience.

I don't believe FSU resonates at the highest level the way it did in the 1990s. But assume it does; assume that it is in the same class as the Ohio States and Alabamas. The ACC simply lacks the depth of those other conferences.

The SEC has Bama, LSU, Florida, Georgia, Auburn, A&M and Tennessee as major, major draws. And it will always have a "flavor-of-the-year" whether that be Ole Miss or someone else. Outside of Vandy and UK, there are no irrelevant football programs in the SEC.

The Big Ten has OSU, Michigan, Penn State, Nebraska, Wisconsin and Michigan State as major draws. Only Indiana, Rutgers and Purdue are irrelevant.

ACC football lags behind those leagues because its top shelf is shorter and its bottom shelf is much longer. No one nationally cares about Syracuse or BC or Wake or UVa or Pitt or Duke or even NC State. If you put Louisville-Georgia Tech up against Iowa-Minnesota or South Carolina-Arkansas, the Big Ten and SEC games will get higher ratings than the ACC game every time.