An interesting little tidbit from the December 7 “3-point stance” of Ivan Maisel:

1. A conference must have its champions average a final BCS standing of 12th over four years to secure its automatic bid. What I didn’t know is that the BCS leagues decided to throw out the standings before the ACC raided the Big East. The four-year average begins with the 2004 season. Nothing before that season counts.

2. Why bring that up? With Florida State finishing this season at No. 22, the ACC’s four year average from 2002-2005 is 12.75. The ACC has been saved from embarrassment by a technicality. With Virginia Tech at No. 8 in 2004, The next two champs’ final ranking can’t add up to more than 18.

I vaguely recall early in this season all the talk about how the ACC was the premier conference in college football this year. The Big East may not be what it was in football or what we want it to be, but the ACC is not what it thinks it is.