Heading into the 2024 college football season, the ACC will look different than it has in the past few years.
The Stanford Cardinal and California Golden Bears joined the conference over the offseason after the Pac-12 dissolved, bringing the ACC to an 18-team league.
While the ACC may not have the perennial contenders that the Big 10 and SEC do, Virginia Tech Hokies head coach Brent Pry fired back last week regarding a narrative that the league is down this year.
“I think it’s a bunch of bull. I’ve been in the SEC. I’ve been in the Big Ten. I’ve been in the ACC. I love this league,” Pry said Saturday morning on ESPN Radio’s Marty and McGee via On3.
Pry first worked with James Franklin while Franklin was still head coach of the Vanderbilt Commodores before following Franklin to Penn State, where Pry served as the Nittany Lions’ defensive coordinator from 2016-21. He was hired to replace Justin Fuente at Virginia Tech following the 2021 season. His first season with the Hokies saw Pry go 3-8, but the program rallied to a 7-6 finish in 2023.
Expanding the College Football Playoff to 12 teams should also allow the ACC to make its first CFP appearance since the Clemson Tigers’ appearance in the 2020-21 edition, something Pry also noted as the conference has multiple strong teams.
“Strong Virginia Tech, strong Miami, Florida State. I mean Clemson had to carry the torch too long by itself, you know, with some guys doing some things here and there. But we’ve got more teams that I think are trending that can really help open some eyes to wear this league really is and what we’re about,” he added.
[Marty and McGee, On3]
