Will 2008 finally be the year?
Will this finally be the year the Big Ten wins the Commissioner’s Cup awarded to the winner of the Big Ten/ACC challenge.
Penn State will face the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets in Atlanta for the Big Ten/ACC challenge next year.
The Nittany Lions beat the Hokies of Virginia Tech at Bryce Jordan Center this year scoring a point for the Big Ten, but the ACC has won the Commissioners Cup the last 9 times. The last time the Lions and Yellow Jackets faced each other was two seasons ago when the Lions lost a thrilling 77-73 game in Atlanta.
The announced Big Ten/ACC Challenge matchups are as follows:
| Home | Away | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Virginia Tech | Wisconsin | ||
| Purdue | Duke | ||
| Illinois | Clemson | ||
| Miami | Ohio State | ||
| Minnesota | Virginia | ||
| Boston College | Iowa | ||
| Michigan State* | North Carolina | ||
| Wake Forest | Indiana | ||
| Maryland | Michigan | ||
| Northwestern | Florida State | ||
| Georgia Tech | Penn State |
*Game will be played at Ford Field (technically a home game for the Spartans)
Here is a recap of last year’s Challenge which the ACC won, 8-3. Numbers in the brackets are the final conference standings of the teams at the end of last season. Basically, the ACC managed to win all the games they should have, in addition to pulling off 3 upsets; Florida State over Minnesota, Duke over Wisconsin, and Clemson over Purdue.
| Home | Away | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| (8) Iowa | 47 | *(7) Wake Forest | 56 |
| *(3) Indiana | 83 | (9) Georgia Tech | 79 |
| *(8) Florida State | 75 | (6) Minnesota | 61 |
| *(10) Virginia | 94 | (11) Northwestern | 52 |
| *(2) Duke | 82 | (1) Wisconsin | 58 |
| *(3) Clemson | 61 | (2) Purdue | 58 |
| *(4) Michigan State | 81 | (11) NC State | 58 |
| *(6) Maryland | 69 | (9) Illinois | 61 |
| (10) Michigan | 64 | *(12) Boston College | 77 |
| (5) Ohio State | 55 | *(1) North Carolina | 66 |
| *(7) Penn State | 66 | (4) Virginia Tech | 61 |
BIG TEN / ACC Challenge by the Numbers:
- Since its inception in 1999, the ACC has won all 9 Commissioner’s Cups
- In its 9 year history, the home team has won 83% of the matchups (60 of the 83 games played)
- The road team has won 28% of the matchups (23 of the 83 games played)
- In the 3 neutral site games (Maryland – Wisconsin, Milwaukee 2000), (Iowa – Duke, Chicago 2001), (Duke – Ohio State, Greensboro 2002), the ACC has won twice (Duke in 2001 and 2002) and the Big Ten once (Wisconsin in 2000).
- Duke (9-0) and Boston College (2-0) are the only two participants that are still undefeated in the Challenge.
Releated Posts:
- Big Ten / ACC matchup 09′
- The Field of 65: Where PSU Stands
- NittanyWhiteOut’s Top 25
- Breaking Down the Big Ten Bubble
- Why Penn State? Here’s why.
