Boston College joined the Atlantic Coast Conference prior to the 2005 season, giving the ACC its 12th team and allowing the conference to join the SEC and Big XII as major conferences to play a championship game. Miami and Virginia Tech joined to expand the conference from nine the previous season. Prior to the implementation of a title game, Florida State had dominated the ACC, winning it in 11 of the 13 years it had been a member of the conference.
The ACC has held 10 championship games and while the Seminoles’ level of domination has certainly declined, FSU has still been the class of the conference over the first decade since it was split into divisions. Virginia Tech took stranglehold of the conference early on and Clemson has recently emerged as a perennial top 15 team, but Florida State has still been the team to beat in the ACC over the last decade.
| Opponent | FSU Record Versus | Winning Percentage | Average Margin |
|---|---|---|---|
| Duke | 5-0 | 1.000 | +30.6 |
| Maryland | 8-1 | .889 | +19.9 |
| Miami | 8-2 | .800 | +6.2 |
| Boston College | 7-3 | .700 | +8.9 |
| Wake Forest | 6-4 | .600 | +15.2 |
| N.C. State | 6-4 | .600 | +9.6 |
| Virginia | 3-2 | .600 | +12.2 |
| Virginia Tech | 3-2 | .600 | -1.8 |
| Clemson | 5-5 | .500 | +2.3 |
| Georgia Tech | 2-2 | .500 | 0 |
| North Carolina | 1-1 | .500 | +0.5 |
Despite three 7-6 seasons including a 3-5 ACC campaign in 2006, Florida State doesn’t have a losing record against a single team from the ACC over the last 10 years. The ‘Noles have split with Clemson, Georgia Tech and North Carolina. Virginia Tech is the only team to hold a scoring edge over the Seminoles while Georgia Tech is even. The ACC again expanded in 2013, adding Pittsburgh and Syracuse. Louisville replaced Maryland prior to 2014. Against those three teams, FSU is a combined 4-0.
| Opponent | FSU Record Versus | Winning Percentage | Average Margin |
|---|---|---|---|
| Syracuse | 2-0 | 1.000 | +37.0 |
| Pittsburgh | 1-0 | 1.000 | +28.0 |
| Louisville | 1-0 | 1.000 | +11.0 |
Since 2005, Florida State has also won more ACC titles than any other team. Only Virginia Tech has as many ACC Championship appearances.
ACC Championships since 2005
Florida State – 4
Virginia Tech – 3
Clemson – 1
Georgia Tech – 1
Wake Forest – 1
Division Titles since 2005
Florida State – 5
Virginia Tech – 5
Georgia Tech – 4
Boston College – 2
Clemson – 2
Duke – 1
Wake Forest – 1
Though the last decade for Florida State has paled in comparison to the previous one, the Seminoles have still managed to be the class of their conference. Over the last 10 years, only Ohio State, Oklahoma, Oregon, West Virginia and USC have won as many major conference titles as the Seminoles and no one has won more. While the ACC is sometimes maligned as a football conference, getting back to the top of it was a key step in FSU’s return to prominence and over the last decade, no team has stood at the top of it more often than the Seminoles.
