Brent Pry: The skill in ACC is 'equal or better' than Big Ten

For nine years, Brent Pry put his Penn State defense up against some of the best teams in the Big Ten. The Nittany Lions played Ohio State and Michigan in what used to be the Big Ten East, and that helped set him up for his first head coaching job at Virginia Tech ahead of the 2022 season.

Pry turned the Hokies around quickly after a rough first go-round, leading the program to a bowl game in 2023. But the ACC is taking on a new look this year with Cal, Stanford and SMU officially joining the party. That’s why Pry said the league is getting even better.

As he looked back on his time in the Big Ten, though, Pry went so far as to say the ACC might be on par with his former league. Specifically, he pointed to the “skill” in the ACC.

"I spent 9 years in the #BigTen, the skill in this league is equal or better."@CoachPryVT has high praise for @theACC

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— College Sports on SiriusXM (@SXMCollege) August 2, 2024

“We’ve got great tradition in this league,” Pry said on SiriusXM College. “We’ve got great college towns, we’ve got really good coaching, we’ve got really good skill. I just spent nine years in the Big Ten. The skill in this league is equal or better.

“I think there’s a lot, it’s maybe harder for some folks to see, but being on the inside, there’s a lot for us to be excited about as a league.”

Brent Pry: ACC is ‘better’ with new additions

Last year, Florida State was able to win its first ACC title since 2014. Since the Seminoles’ previous championship, two other teams – Notre Dame in 2020, when it competed in the ACC during the COVID-19 pandemic, and Wake Forest in 2021 – won the conference title. Clemson won the rest.

FSU is once again the favorite to win the league this year, with Clemson coming in at No. 2 in the preseason poll. But there’s plenty of hype around Miami. The Hurricanes were picked third in the poll and have the preseason player of the year in Cam Ward.

With those teams vying for a spot in the ACC Championship and in the new-look College Football Playoff, along with the three newcomers, Pry said the conference is in great shape. He argued their success could make the league that much stronger in a new era of college football.

“First of all, I think we’re better,” Pry said. “We’re a better league with those three schools entering the league. They’ve all got, at some period in recent history, they’ve had really good runs. For me, what hits closer to home for me is that you’ve got Virginia Tech, you’ve got Miami, you’ve got Syracuse, you’ve got Florida State – schools that were kind of down, which were strongholds in the league. And you kinda had Clemson carrying the torch there for a while without much help.

“I think, to get Virginia Tech strong and Miami back and Florida State, what they’ve done, that’s going to enhance our league. When you look at that, if that all happens – you’ve got some other folks that can do some things, obviously. But those were the powerhouses when the league was really rocking and rolling.”