What was the worst ACC Championship game ever?

Sure, some ACC Championship Games have been better than others, but which one has been the worst so far?

Multiple factors must be taken into consideration when deciding what all makes a “good” conference championship game. Said factors include not just the two teams who are participating, but also how well they go up against one another.

The Atlantic Coast Conference has traditionally had no issues in such regards, with big-name programs like Florida State and Clemson being present in most of the conference’s title games (circa 2005). Schools of relevance in a competitive matchup are good for ACC football in terms of both viewership and revenue.

However, there is bound to be an oddball or two somewhere; a meeting between two teams that virtually no one cares to watch. And when the affair is boring and/or low-scoring, that makes matters even worse.

For the ACC, the prime example of such a phenomenon would have to be the championship game from 2006, between Georgia Tech and Wake Forest.

The worst ACC football championship of all time?

Both the Yellow Jackets and Demon Deacons were coming off of outstanding regular season performances (by their standards), with the former sitting at a healthy record of 9-3 and the latter at a slightly superior 10-2.

While the two powers were certainly deserving of their spots in the title game, it should not take a rocket scientist to discover the fact that neither of them is amongst the biggest and most renowned names along the Atlantic Coast. So there’s one notable problem right there.

The event commenced on a moist December day headlined by rainy weather, but none of the conditions were too extreme. Although, it must have combined with each team’s defense and poor play-calling just enough to stifle whatever chance there was at a strong offensive showing.

That’s right, not a single touchdown was scored by either side throughout the entirety of the game. Rather, it was a duel between kickers that eventually fell in favor of Wake Forest star and subsequent championship game MVP Sam Swank, with the game having a final score of 9-6.

In retrospect, there are even fewer positives to look back on. Wake Forest was awarded a spot in the 2007 Orange Bowl against Louisville, an opportunity that they ultimately did nothing with.

Also, Georgia Tech (who, too, was on the losing side of a bowl game) possessed the only future NFL star involved in the catastrophe, Calvin “Megatron” Johnson.

Johnson saw great success in his short time with the National Football League, recently earning himself a first-ballot Hall of Fame induction.

That should imply that his constantly being overthrown while wide open and not being utilized for even one touchdown is a waste of his potential. But it appears as if Georgia Tech failed to pick up on such a notion, as that is exactly what they did on the ACC’s biggest stage.

Forgettable participants, undesirable weather conditions, lame offenses, and consequently no touchdowns. All of this easily makes the 2006 ACC Championship Game the worst installment of the event to date.