Conference structure remains a hot topic in the world of college football, and the ACC's current setup of an 8-game schedule to go along with two seven-team divisions is .... probably not the best.
With the de-regulation of league championship games appearing to be an issue of when and not if, there are plenty of opinions floating around about what the ACC should do to alter its structure. Some believe the league should scrap divisions altogether and have a conference championship game featuring the two teams with the best record at the end of the year, while others think a three division model might work better.
ACC reporter David Teel thinks both of these options (and most of the other ones) are a bit over-the-top. Teel is in favor of tweaking, not torching, the league's current alignment, and the biggest tweak he thinks should be made is swapping divisions for Louisville and Georgia Tech.
Look at Virginia Tech's future schedules. The Hokies face Notre Dame three times (2016, '18 and '19) before encountering new ACC member Louisville in 2020.
But since the league appears wedded to eight games, divisions and permanent crossovers, resolution is impossible. Despite those constraints, the conference shouldn't settle for the status quo.
I still believe the best and cleanest change (detailed explanation in this link) would be to move Georgia Tech from the Coastal to Atlantic Division, and Louisville from the Atlantic to Coastal.
The swap would create two annual rivalries, Georgia Tech-Florida State (same division) and Virginia Tech-Clemson (new crossover partners), that are television- and fan-friendly. Also, the ACC's most northern schools, Syracuse and Boston College, who currently appear in Atlanta and Miami, major southern markets and recruiting hotbeds, twice every 12 years, would play Georgia Tech in Atlanta every two years.
Florida State-Miami, Duke-Wake, State-Carolina and Pitt-Syracuse would remain annual crossovers. In addition to Virginia Tech-Clemson, new interdivision partners would be Virginia-Georgia Tech and Louisville-BC, or Virginia-BC and Louisville-Georgia Tech.
It will be interesting to see what proposals are given serious consideration during next week's spring meetings.