The ACC should have one less competetor for the conference title after this week's Florida State/Virginia game in Tallahassee.  Obviously, FSU is out of the hunt if Saturday night's game brings them a second ACC loss.  Less obvious, though, is the fact that UVa will all but eliminate themselves from contention with their first ACC loss.

Assuming no major upsets along the way, the only game of importance remaining for these two teams is the Nov. 13th Miami/UVa game in Charlottesville.  "Now," you might ask, "why would UVa be eliminated with a loss to FSU, they can still beat Miami to make it a three-way tie right?"  Sure, that's a possibility, but in that scenario the conference title would go to FSU since they would (most likely) be ranked higher than UVa and Miami giving them the tiebreaker.  Virginia can score a huge upset victory over the Hurricanes yet without beating their longtime nemesis 'Noles they will not be able to win the ACC title, and FSU, despite yet another humbling loss to the 'Canes will receive the automatic bid to the BCS.

It's unfortunate that games this early in the year can virtually end a team's chances for the conference crown, but in the New ACC - where the main goal is to get two teams into the BCS, rather than a competetive race for the conference title - the scenario is just what the doctor ordered.  Playing the FSU/Miami game on Labor Day is good for ratings (and the two-team BCS possibility) but bad for a competetive conference in November.  Expect more of the same in the future from the New ACC.